By Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – The spirit of giving was alive and well following the holidays for the Salvation Army of McLean County.
Kettle donations were down, and when the organization notified the public of the shortfall, Salvation Army corps officer Maj. Gary Felton said the community came through with a big boost in contributions sent by mail and online.
“I’ve never really experienced what I’ve experienced in Bloomington,” said Felton.
“We were quite a distance behind in our Christmas goal. (During) the month of January, people simply heard our cry, and came out,” he added.
Felton said the “Make a Difference” campaign wound up raising $529,000, exceeding the $515,000 fundraising goal.
The red kettles, staffed by volunteer bell ringers, raised $217,000, which was below the $255,000 objective.
That was offset by $311,000 coming from the mail and online donations, which was about $51,000 above expectations.
The fundraising results were announced at a reception celebrating Salvation Army volunteers.
Its volunteer of the year is Eva Starkey of Bloomington.
She said many people don’t realize the Salvation Army is also a church. Starkey has been involved almost her whole life.
“I grew up in that church. That’s where I taught Sunday school, played in the band,” said Starkey.
“I’m 76 now, and I started when I was around eight years old.”
Starkey, a long-time Advocate BroMenn Medical Center employee, was honored for teaching Sunday school, helping with Salvation Army weekly youth nights. and counting money collected from the kettles during the Christmas season.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at howard.packowitz@cumulus.com
