Korellis Roofing employees Brian Sheeman and Mike Wasserman, right, accept a donation from Cherie Bieber of Hammond as part of the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign.
Donations are taken at Strack & Van Til supermarket as part of the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign.
Blame it on tough times, lack of bell-ringers or a late holiday arctic blast.
Whatever the reason, area Salvation Army community centers reported a drop in Red Kettle collections this season.
The annual campaign, a staple of Salvation Army fundraising, concluded Dec. 24, and no local centers reported meeting their goals. However, they say, there is still time to give.
Kevin Feldman, development director for the three Lake County centers and the Porter County facility, reported that $233,618 came from kettles. The goal was $303,000.
“We’re disappointed,” Feldman said. “That money helps sustain us for the first quarter of the new year. We saw a decline in bell-ringers last year, but it was even worse this year.”
Porter County sites did well with fewer locations, Feldman said, but some locations in Lake County had no ringers for the season. In some cases, the problem was older volunteers opting to not ring this season.
The pre-Christmas cold did not help either, although the bell-ringing weather was generally “fairly moderate.”
One solution, Feldman said, is securing younger volunteers. The Salvation Amy has a program called Echelon, which organizes young people as volunteers.
“We have not had Echelon in Northwest Indiana,” he said, “but maybe it’s time to do this.”
All kettle donations stay in the local area, with 90% of the money going to programs and services. This past Christmas, Feldman said, the three Lake County centers provided toys for about 2,800 children, an increase from 2021.
“While Red Kettle donations are down,” he said, “we’ve helped more children than last year.”
Virtual Red Kettle donations are being accepted at sanorthwestindiana.org.
The Porter County campaign fell about $10,000 short of its $95,000 goal for Red Kettle collections. Auxiliary Captain Jim Pritchard did not have figures on the campaign goal of $183,000, which includes nonkettle donations.
“We could not fill all the kettle spots,” Pritchard said.
Another issue was the pre-Christmas snow and cold spell that hampered what is traditionally among the better days for donations.
This season, the Valparaiso center provided toys for children in 400 families, along with 40 food baskets for families.
Pritchard said people may still donate there, too. If paying by check, he explained, donors should write "Red Kettle" in the memo line.
The Red Kettle campaign may be the Salvation Army’s most recognizable fundraiser, but there are other ways to donate. These include cash, goods, vehicles, airline miles, bonds, funds, IRA rollovers, planned giving, wills, gift annuities and matching gifts through employers.
At the Salvation Army in Michigan City, Major Rebecca Simmons reported that the kettle campaign raised 60% of its $220,000 goal. She cited multiple problems.
First, the economy. Then not enough bell-ringers. Third was the weather. The final days of the campaign were victims of the cold. In some cases, volunteers were told to stay home for safety.
“Those last few days,” Simmons said, “we got just about nothing.”
The Michigan City center served 650 families over the holidays, an increase of 100 over 2021. The site also provided toys for 1,443 children, compared with 1,190 the previous year.
Also supported by donations through the campaign are a year-round food pantry, diaper bank, utility assistance, weekend backpack food program, youth summer camp, and poverty and drug-addiction case management.
Simmons said the center is still accepting donations. The facility reopened the kettle drive Wednesday for one day at two sites.
“We set the bar high this year for our Christmas campaign, knowing that it would be crucial to meet that goal if we were to continue providing the level of service needed in our community, given the challenges and fluctuations from the recession,” she said. “The fact that we are still so far from our goal is causing concern for the 2023 year of service.”
At the LaPorte center, Major Charles Pinkston reported that, of an $85,000 goal, $52,952.76 had been collected.
“I still believe the problem is inflation,” he said. “Folks don’t have the expendable income as they did in years past.”
Fewer bell-ringers and the cold did not help either, Pinkston said.
Because of the cold and snow, no ringers were working Dec. 23, with only a few sites open Christmas Eve. LaPorte had, for much of the drive, seven daily kettle sites, with one ringer per site. That last weekend, Pinkston said, eight kettle sites operated: “We did what we could that last week.”
For the holidays, the LaPorte center helped more than 400 families with food and provided toys to 880 children. Both numbers represent an increase from the previous winter.
People can still help, Pinkston stressed.
“We always accept donations,” he said.
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