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| 1986 in the united states | |
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:"On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, 1986, more than five million people joined hands to form a line that stretched 4,152 miles – from New York City 's Battery Park to a pier in Long Beach, California . This nationwide event, called Hands Across America, was intended to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness." Enough people participated to form an unbroken chain across the country if the path were a straight line. However, there were many breaks in the chain). In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities. The Coca-Cola Company and Citibank donated a combined $8 million to fund the event. The event raised nearly $20 million, far short of its $50 million goal, and critics branded the event a failure, as production costs exceeded $17 million. It was believed that a substantial number of participants joined in without paying the requisite ten dollar fee. Cities along the route included the following:
The event was conceived and organized by (noon Pacific Time ) to add to the festive atmosphere of the event. The date and time chosen for the event inadvertently conflicted with another charity fundraiser Sport Aid , which was organized by USA For Africa on the same day. Since Hands Across America was much better publicized in the United States, only 4000 runners participated in New York City for Sport Aid. POP CULTURE REFERENCES
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