By Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – The Salvation Army of McLean County’s red kettle campaign has fallen short of its goal for the second straight year, so the organization is again depending on a post-Christmas surge in donations sent online or through the mail.
A Salvation Army news release said donations sent by mail or online are also behind last year’s effort, threatening service cuts for various programs like the Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter, the Food Pantry, the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program, and youth programs including summer camp and the after-school program.
The total raised from red kettles as of Christmas Eve was a little more than $200,529.53, about $20,000 short of the goal, and about $14,000 less than last year’s Make a Difference campaign.
The Salvation Army is also well short of reaching its overall goal of raising $520,000 this year when factoring in online contributions and donations sent by mail. So far, the amount raised is $357,778.88.
Red kettle giving has slumped as shoppers carry less cash. Last year, former Salvation Army Corps Officer Gary Felton said the organization was looking at alternatives such as setting up kiosks where people could swipe credit or debit cards.
“There are so many factors that have contributed to the Kettles continuing to decrease over the past two years,” said Angie Bubon, Development Director at the Salvation Army, “but we are so grateful to everyone who volunteered and donated to the red kettles. We could not do any of it without the tremendous support of our community,” Bubon said in a prepared statement.
“We hope the community will continue to support our efforts by donating online or through the mail. Achieving this campaign goal is so important to the thousands of people in need we serve each year here in McLean County – and we believe that goal is still obtainable,” Bubon also said.
Donors are asked to continue to contributing online at sabloomington.org or by sending in a donation to The Salvation Army, 611 W Washington St, Bloomington, IL 61701.
The Salvation Army said donations designated for the campaign will continue to be counted as they come in and the final campaign results will be revealed at the Campaign Celebration event on February 7.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
