The Salvation Army is nearing the end of a successful holiday season.
The local chapter of The Salvation Army announced on Christmas Eve that they achieved its Christmas Kettle campaign goal of $170,000 despite being off-pace from the previous year. “It was slow from the beginning and we didn’t have our volunteers in place early so that put us behind a little bit,” said public relations representative Gail Kromm at their headquarters on Friday. “In the end it all turned out good so we’re all happy.”
The organization still has some donations that have yet to be counted before the end of the year such as a one-day matching program from Wal-Mart as well as late online donations.
Last year’s campaign was able to raise $175,000 but Kromm said the target for this year was set at the number needed to ensure there wouldn’t be any shortfalls.
When all is said and done, Kromm expects the total figure to approach the 2012 figure.
Their signature red Christmas kettles were present at eight locations across the city throughout the duration of the campaign.
Kromm said there were some internal issues getting in touch with volunteers at the beginning of the campaign but by the end had more than enough people willing to spend some time manning the stations. “It was more just connecting with people than anything,” she said.
She estimated that the total from the kettle campaign represents a little more than a third of the Salvation Army’s yearly fundraising total.
Some of the community programs that the organization is able to run comes as a result of the campaign. Examples of these programs include the nightly soup van as well as school breakfast and anti-bullying programs. “We also help not only with food at the food bank but in other ways in a more holistic way to support people going there,” she said. “If there is some kind of a disaster we’re able to provide clothing and household goods as well through the program.”
In addition to the kettles, the organization is working to modernize their collecting methods by having online donations available.
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