Guinness World Record Attempt Falls Short

Glendora resident David Parsons may not have reached his goal of , but his main goal was to raise awareness and money for children battling cancer relapse. Parsons, 25, attempted to break the Guinness world record of 8,709 hugs given in a 24-hour span on National Hug Day Monday, but logged 3,162 according to his website.

The attempt was inspired in memory of Parsons’ friend Sharon Perkins, a 24-year-old Azusa Pacific University graduate who died from cancer in 2008.

Parsons and his group of volunteers, named Hugs 4 Wishes, attempted to raise $100,000 for Grants Wishes, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children in Southern California hospitals.

Hugs 4 Wishes set up a red carpet area to solicit hugs and donations at LA Live at the corner of Figueroa and 11^th streets in Los Angeles Monday.

Although Parsons came up short of his Guinness world record goal, and donations are still being tallied, he said he accomplished his goal of raising awareness for children with cancer.

"Going into 2013 I thought, why not kick it off with the question, what are you going to do for the kids who are diagnosed with cancer in 2013? How can you bring them hope?" Parsons told The San Gabriel Valley Tribune. "Why not start with National Hug Day?"