Salvation Army leaders in Latrobe, Greensburg and the Allegheny Valley are looking to make up ground in their annual Red Kettle Campaigns, as donations to date are far short of the amounts they’re hoping to raise by Christmas.
With the holiday little more than a week away, the Salvation Army service center in Latrobe had raised about $32,000 (49%) toward its $65,000 goal in the seasonal campaign.
“We have to match what we’ve done since Nov. 15 in the next seven days to reach our goal,” said Major David Means Jr. of the Latrobe center. “We’re definitely going to need an unexpected big donation to reach our goal.”
In Greensburg, donations totaled about $62,000 (69%), compared to the $90,000 goal.
“We’re struggling at this point,” said Major Laurie Greenfield of the Greensburg service center. “We are behind where we normally are at this time.”
The two neighboring communities aren’t alone in facing challenges with this year’s kettle campaign.
Across the 28 counties of its Pittsburgh-based Western Pennsylvania Division, the Salvation Army needs to raise more than $1 million in a week’s time to achieve its goal of about $2.3 million.
In Allegheny County, the Salvation Army has raised $271,139, which is about 51% of the $527,000 campaign goal there.
The Allegheny Valley service center in Brackenridge has raised just under $44,700, amounting to 47% of its $95,000 goal.
Captain Selah Bender of the Allegheny Valley said the lack of donations isn’t due to less generosity from community members.
She attributed the shortfall to the service center having less volunteers, fewer locations to stand in front of and the stretch of brutal cold that barred any volunteers from bell ringing.
“The plan is not to limit any service or programs,” Bender said. “The plan is to try to find that money somewhere else.”
In addition to the Salvation Army’s uniform programming, the Allegheny Valley service center offers unique programs such as an adult basketball league, the Love in a Backpack program that provides weekend meals for food-insecure children and a sewing group that completes social service projects regularly.
“I’m not disappointed, because every dollar in the kettle is one that someone didn’t have to give,” Bender said. “I’m so grateful for every donation.”
Bender said the busiest week of donations is here as the holiday season is upon us. She predicts the service center will be able to close the gap to $10,000 to $12,000 by Christmas Eve.
The New Kensington service center has raised around $42,000, which is roughly 72% of its $58,000 goal.
“God has been blessing us while we’ve been out there, and we’re entrusting him with the results,” said Major Kevin Schoch of the New Kensington service center.
He said there’s usually some degree of pick up in donations toward the end of the season. Schoch said donation amounts can depend on various factors, including the the amount of volunteers the service center has at their disposal. He said if a store closes in the service center’s territory, they lose a location to collect donations.
“There’s always variables in it,” he said. “We’re working our way through it.”
Donations total more than $46,700 at the center in Butler, which serves residents in seven ZIP codes. That represents about 52% of its $90,000 fundraising goal for this year and is about $2,400 shy of what was donated by the same time last year.
Finding volunteer bell-ringers to man kettles is a problem in both Greensburg and Latrobe.
“We have five or six places where we can stand kettles, and we’re having trouble covering those at times,” Greenfield said. “I think people are working extra jobs to get by right now. That limits our volunteer pool.”
The Greensburg center has a longstanding relationship with some local fire departments and businesses that muster bell-ringers.
But, Greenfield said, “Some of our volunteers have aged out. They just can’t do it anymore.”
Means said the rate of donations has increased since last year when kettles are manned at three full-time locations and an additional part-time collection spot, which the Latrobe center shares with other organizations.
The trouble is there haven’t been enough volunteer bell-ringers to completely fill shifts between 9 a.m. and 6 or 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday at all the kettle sites.
“We’ve had a very generous community,” he said, “but we’re down by around 220 volunteer hours. That is a significant swing.
“If there isn’t somebody there ringing the bell, we’re unable to collect the donations.”
He said there’s still time for any individuals or groups who want to sign on to join the bell-ringing brigade.
“We encourage people, if they’re able, to take a two-hour block,” Means said. “If they have family and friends or they’re in a church group or organization, it gives them the opportunity to sign up for the whole day, and each person can take a half-hour.”
According to The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division, one two-hour volunteer kettle shift raises an average of $80 to $100. That’s enough to provide up to 200 meals to those in need.
Cold weather impacts volunteering
At the Butler service center, envoy Charles DeJesus recruited a combination of paid and volunteer bell-ringers, but he still has lacked sufficient kettle attendants.
“I prefer to employ people seasonally,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for a hand up.”
But, he added, “I haven’t had consistency with the hired bell-ringers coming in.”
He noted some stayed home when the weather got cold. As a result, he’s had only about half of his 10 kettle locations staffed at a given time.
The recent frigid temperatures and last weekend’s snowstorm provided an additional challenge for kettle collections. Greenfield was waiting to learn the total collected in Greensburg on Saturday, as a donor agreed to match that one-day amount.
“We did try to cover all our stores on Saturday,” she said.
Greenfield theorizes that more shoppers moving away from cash may have cut into kettle contributions.
“Most people are using credit and debit cards,” she said.
She noted donations made by check to the Greensburg center also have fallen off from previous years.
Red Kettle donations the Salvation Army collects in each location stay in that community to help those in need of food, rent or utility assistance, or to support youth and spiritual programs.
Greenfield increased this year’s Greensburg kettle goal by $10,000, and it appears that was an appropriate move.
“We’ve seen a lot more requests for assistance with rent, fuel and food across the board,” she said. “People are struggling.”
“Our work will not stop, but without support, we cannot continue to meet immediate needs in our communities,” said Major Marcus Jugenheimer, divisional commander for The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division.
TribLive staff writer Haley Daugherty contributed to this article.
