Latter-day Saints in Hawaii net funds for Haiti relief effort
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A group of Mormons in the Kaneohe 2nd Ward, Kaneohe Hawaii Stake — in an attempt to heed the First Presidency's call to help the people affected by the disaster in Haiti — of their own initiative conducted a unique fundraiser on Jan. 18.
Eight Latter-day Saints, including children, participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. parade along Waikiki Beach. Working in partnership with the Hawaii chapter of the Martin Luther King Coalition and the Hawaii Red Cross, the members used hand trucks with lined garbage cans and fishnets to collect donations along the parade route. In the one-hour walk, the group collected $3,700 from spectators. The money raised was given to the Hawaii Red Cross for the Haiti relief effort.
Charles Naumu, who serves as the ward mission leader and organized the fundraiser, appreciated those parade watchers who made contributions. "These folks are not the well-to-do business folks or well-to-do philanthropists," he said. "These are just average people on the street watching a parade."
Assisting in times of disaster is not new. Two months ago they collected $2,500 at the Kahuku High football games. Kahuku High, located near BYU-Hawaii, has a student body who are predominately members of the Church. The funds went to the International Red Cross to help victims of the recent tsunami in Samoa and typhoon in the Philippines.
