Helping Hands Hawaii’s annual Good Neighbor Fund campaign came to a close last week, raising a total of nearly $113,500.

Despite falling short of this year’s $125,000 goal, which was $25,000 more than last year’s goal, HHH’s Community Clearinghouse and Emergency Assistance Program Manager Kristine Garabiles said the continued support from the campaign helped the agency provide assistance to all 600 families slated to receive aid through the agency’s Adopt-A-Family program this holiday season.

“When we don’t have enough donors who are doing the one-on-one match, we want to make sure that the families who were accepted for the program receive something,” Garabiles said. “We use those funds to help support the families.”

Money raised by the Good Neighbor Fund campaign — a joint effort by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, First Hawaiian Bank and Helping Hands Hawaii — is also used to support the agency’s various programs throughout the year.

This year, Garabiles said that donors have been expressing their desire to give back to the community, some of whom had first-hand experience receiving donations when they were struggling to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, a donation recipient told Garabiles that the assistance not only helped her family get by during the holidays, but also served as inspiration to begin a job search that landed her a job in the new year.

The stories about the Good Neighbor Fund’s impact reflect the campaign’s overarching goal — to bring joy during the holidays while empowering struggling families to strive for a better future for themselves, Garabiles said.

“The holidays can be stressful for anybody. But when it comes to a struggling family who can’t really afford to buy gifts on top of their everyday expenses, it can be rough,” Garabiles said. “If you’re able to give back during the holidays and bring joy to families who are struggling, it can make a world of difference.”

While the 2023 Good Neighbor Fund campaign has concluded, monetary donations to the fund are being accepted year-round by mail, in-person at 2100 North Nimitz Highway., or online at HelpingHandsHawaii.org. Donations of goods to the Community Clearinghouse are also accepted year-round, which may be dropped off at the same address, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Here is the latest list of donors to the 2023 Good Neighbor Fund:

>> Anonymous $1,800

>> Russell Kato $500

>> Anne & Jan Furuuchi $300

>> In memory of Violet Ogawa $300

>> Craig and Lori Muramoto $255.58

>> Dorothy N. Nakama $200

>> Wayne & Isabelle $200

>> In loving memory of Clarence E. DeMattos $150

>> In memory of Hiromu and Jeanette Hayashi $150

>> Clyde Y. Mizumoto $100

>> Dennis S. Takatsuki $100

>> From Sim Ohana $100

>> In loving memory of Mowgli $100

>> In memory of Bea and Kazuo $100

>> In memory of Dr. Roy Sam $100

>> Joelle Simonpietri $100

>> John I. Kotake DDS $100

>> Stephen Y. Chinen $100

>> The Adzuara Family $100

>> In memory of Clyde Tsukayama $75

>> Nicholas and Noah Lee $75

>> Elisa Ketter $51.52

>> Grace Y. Kutaka $50

>> In loving memory of Auntie Diane Iwasaki $50

>> Janet Thebaud Gillmar $50

>> Marcia I. Tsue Horiuchi $40

>> Alvin Shimizu for Cheryl-lynn Ishiki $25

>> Alvin Shimizu for Ritsuko and Wataru Shimizu $25

>> Zoila Agcaoili $10

Weekly total: $5,257.10

Previous week’s total: $108,239.02

Grand total: $113,496.12

Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.