Salvation Army accepting donations to make up for kettle shortfall
If you missed your chance to donate to the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, you have another chance.
The Salvation Army was unable to collect for charity on Dec. 23 and 24 due to extremely cold weather. Those two dates are usually the two biggest ones for donations in the Red Kettle campaign, which typically runs from Nov. 19 through Dec. 24, said Maj. Darlene Means of the Butler Salvation Army.
“Because of the weather, we couldn’t go out Friday and Saturday, and those are usually two of our biggest days for kettles,” Means said.
Donations were about $15,000 short of the $90,000 goal of the Red Kettle campaign, she said.
People wishing to contribute can donate online, in person or by mail through Jan. 13.
The address for donations being mailed or dropped off is 313 W. Cunningham St., Butler, PA 16001. The office hours for drop-off donations are from 9 a.m. to noon this week, and from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. next week.
Checks should be made payable to the Salvation Army and “Kettles” should be written on the memo line.
The Salvation Army uses Red Kettle campaign funds to provide food, rental and utility bill assistance, clothing vouchers for fire victims, Christmas gifts and other services for the needy.
Not reaching the fundraising goal will force the organization to revise its budget, with less money for those services.
“We’ll have to revise our budget. We’ll have to start trimming where we can,” Means said.
As an example, she said the $150 to $200 that people usually receive for rental assistance might have to be reduced to $100.
