Donations needed for Salvation Army holiday toy and food drive

Sep. 30—The Salvation Army is ramping up the annual effort to provide Christmas and Thanksgiving assistance and is seeking community support during a time of high need in the wake of the mill closure and its ripple effects.

"I think that there is a real challenge in our economy right now. We have to make sure we don't let that impact us," said David Carriker, community relations and development director of The WNC Salvation Army. "There's still a need and we have to meet those needs. There's still hungry people, and we have wonderful kids, but some of them come from pretty tough circumstances."

Last year, over 800 families in Haywood County were assisted during the holiday season.

The Western North Carolina Salvation Army, which assists seven counties including Haywood County, has seen an increase in service requests.

"Our requests for service are almost up three times from last year at the same point," said Carriker.

However, the Salvation Army income has dropped to pre-Covid level.

"It's really pushed the finances, stretching how we're able to do service and it's challenging. Our food pantries are the lowest they've ever been," Carriker said.

How to help

Donors can adopt a child, disabled adult or senior citizen in an expanded Christmas tradition of giving, or donate financially to defray the cost of food boxes for families in need.

Through the Angel Tree program, tags with the name of someone in need are placed on Christmas trees throughout the county. The tags include the age, size and a few gift ideas. Donors can select one or more tags, purchase the gifts on the list and return them to The Salvation Army for distribution.

The holiday food boxes include items needed to prepare a typical holiday meal. Funds for the food boxes are provided through individual donations, as well as money taken in through the organization's red kettle/bell-ringing drive.

The holiday assistance would not be possible without the support of volunteers.

"The volunteers make such a difference in being able to help those families at Christmas time and throughout the year," said Major Susan Rodgers, an officer with The Salvation Army. "We really appreciate that the communities we serve are generous communities and we're just so thankful for the volunteers that we have around here."

The Salvation Army hosted a Volunteer & Partner Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 21. Sitting at the tables were volunteers, bell ringers from civic clubs and past holiday seasons, members from United Way, safety officers and other partners of The Salvation Army.

"This is just a way to kind of say thank you, to the many folks, the army behind the army, that help us serve in this community," Carriker said. "The partnerships are all so that we can make a difference in someone's life."

Sign up for assistance

To be included on the list for the holiday food boxes and the Angel Tree program, individuals need to sign up beforehand. In Haywood, sign-ups will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 16-19 at The Salvation Army, 290 Pigeon St.

"We are gearing up for our Christmas season next month," Rodgers said. "We take those applications for families in need, we have a senior angel tree program and a kids angel tree program and one for the disabled."

The Thanksgiving food distribution in Haywood will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Salvation Army office. The Christmas food and Angel tree distribution will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 18-20 at Waynesville location.

Nationwide, the Salvation Army puts gifts under the tree for nearly one million children who could otherwise go without during the holiday season.

For more information about the programs and services available at The Salvation Army, or to make a donation, call 828-456-7111 or visit southernusa.salvationarmy.org/waynesville.