Inspire 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

CMN: Miracle Moments

Walmart associates in Hilo celebrated their record-breaking year during a visit from 2023 CMN Champion Kalley-Mae Yee and her family.

The Secret to Success

Hilo Walmart has a secret. It’s the reason for the store’s record-breaking success. For the second year in a row, the store on East Makaala Street shattered the national Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) fundraising record for a single Walmart store — and the Hilo team had a lot of fun doing it. Each donation was celebrated with a cowbell, and sometimes lucky customers were even treated to a show with associates displaying their vocal skills and dance moves while dressed up in inflatable costumes.

The $131,194 raised in 2023 will go toward cancer care and a new retinal imaging system at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.

So, what is the store’s big secret?

“It’s our people,” said Mark Roberts, Hilo Walmart store manager. “Our entire team is passionate about helping Kapiolani because many of them know someone who has received care there. The Hilo community is so generous.”

Kalley-Mae shows off the new Diamond Bakery soda cracker box with Butch Galdeira, Diamond Bakery president.

Change for a Good Cause

If you grew up in Hawaii, chances are you grew up eating Diamond Bakery’s graham, animal and soda crackers. After all, the company has been around since 1921 and is one of Hawaii’s most well-known brands. But in 2023, Diamond Bakery changed its iconic soda cracker box for the first time in 30 years, and it was for a good cause. Shoppers saw the smiling face of Kalley-Mae Yee, Hawaii’s 2023 CMN Champion. It’s a visible and adorable sign of the bakery’s partnership with Kapiolani.

“I know many families who have needed the services at Kapiolani,” said Butch Galdeira, Diamond Bakery president. “If there’s a way we can bring a smile to a child’s life during their time in the hospital, it’s worth it for us.”

For every box of soda crackers sold, Diamond Bakery donated 25 cents to Kapiolani. Through this campaign, the company is hoping to raise $15,000 for the medical center. Diamond Bakery believes this is just a small taste of future projects to support Kapiolani CMN.

GameStop associates at Kapiolani in October 2023.

Press Play

Peanut butter and jelly. Milk and cookies. Kids and video games. It seems as if you cannot have one without the other. So when GameStop partnered with CMN nationally in 2018, it was the perfect match.

“Video games provide a brief escape from our everyday lives,” said Chris Nonaka, GameStop Hawaii district manager. “Kapiolani uses video games in the healing process, taking a child’s mind off what they’re going through, which is fantastic.”

Local GameStop team members helped create the popular gaming station in the Panda Cares Center of Hope. In October 2023, several updated and set up video game systems and virtual reality headsets for Child Life and rehabilitation patients. Each time team members help out at the medical center, GameStop donates in honor of their volunteer hours. The register campaigns have been the most successful fundraisers. Over the past three years, GameStop stores in Hawaii and Guam have raised nearly $7,700 for Kapiolani.