Red Cross extending
fund-raising campaignThe Hawaii chapter hopes to
eliminate its $150,000 deficit
The Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross is extending its "Hawaii $2-gether" campaign until Dec. 31.
The Red Cross is asking Hawaii residents to donate $2 at participating businesses to reduce the chapter's $150,000 debt.
"We will ask stores to extend it to the end of the year because we got a bit of a late start," said Coralie Chun Matayoshi, the chapter's chief executive officer.
The campaign was launched Oct. 28 and was to have run through yesterday.
The Red Cross has collected $19,000 in unsolicited donations made directly to its local office, including a $15,000 donation from an individual.
"The real campaign is out there in the stores, and we don't know anything about that yet," Matayoshi said.
The Red Cross will tally donations at the end of the year.
The agency is gathering donations at stores, including Hawaii National Bank and Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. Some credit unions have also joined the campaign.
Other groups have also pitched in with their own projects. Kalani Red Cross Club went trick-or-treating, and the Punahou Red Cross Club sold Big Island Candies candy bars to raise money. The University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union held a bake sale, and Hawaii Pacific Federal Credit Union sold candy.
The Red Cross receives 60 percent of its $3.2 million annual budget from public donations and 40 percent from federal employee donations and fees from health and safety classes and product sales.