Workplaces, schools donate to fund
By Loren Moreno
Advertiser Staff Writer
Each year, donors to the Advertiser Christmas Fund have included workplaces that collect money or adopt families, and school classes that have chipped in or held fundraisers to give to others.
For more than 20 years, United Airlines employees in Honolulu have spread Christmas cheer by adopting families through Helping Hands Hawai'i. This year will not be different.
Various departments within United's Honolulu offices will adopt at least five families, said Liana Neff, supervisor of customer service.
Even during times of uncertainty, especially when United went into bankruptcy, the employees still gave.
"With all of that, we still were able to adopt a few families — maybe not as much as we used to — but we kept that giving spirit," said Neff.
United Airlines is not the only company planning on giving to Island families in need.
Charlie Loomis, with the law department at Alexander & Baldwin, said his department this year decided to adopt a family for Christmas "instead of fooling around with exchanging gifts with each other."
Loomis said the department of about seven people was excited about the idea when he pitched it in October.
"A lot of us have children and know what it is like when the holidays come around," said Loomis, a father of two teenage boys.
The law department plans to divide up and purchase the requests they receive from the family, said Loomis. He said he hopes the small contribution will make a big difference in their lives.
"We should do more of this all the time," he said.
Earlier this month, Thanh Quoc Lam, president and chief executive officer of the wholesale bakery Ba-Le Inc., cut a check for the Advertiser Christmas Fund and for Helping Hands Hawai'i of nearly $8,000.
From Nov. 1 to 7, all the sales from his reopened Ba-Le bakery in Kalihi, plus a 100-percent match from Lam's own pocket, went to charity.
In all, Lam donated more than $30,000 to charity.
"I felt it was a way to give back," said Lam, who came to America from Vietnam in 1979.
Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.
