New Salvation Army leaders see need with annual red-kettle campaign set to start
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CHAMPAIGN — Melissa and Kenyon Sivels were on the job as the new corps officers for the Salvation Army of Champaign County just three days before severe storms hit in late June.
With a lot of food losses due to an extended power outage in the community, the Salvation Army's food pantry was busy, Kenyon Sivels said.
Months after the storm, he and his wife are still seeing need in the community for food and help with rent and utilities amid rising prices.
Last year, the organization gave out 36,000 food boxes, and this year, it's on pace to nearly double that with 60,000, Kenyon Sivels said.
"Things are hard for folks," he said.
To help serve the community's most vulnerable, the Salvation Army of Champaign County is launching a $470,000 seasonal fundraising campaign. It will kick off Friday with the annual rollout of red kettles at 30 stores throughout Champaign County.
The organization hopes to raise $150,000 of that goal through red-kettle donations.
Even before this campaign gets underway, Kenyon Sivels said, there's an urgent need for volunteer bell ringers to sign up to staff the red kettles.
Only 642 bell-ringer hours were covered as of Tuesday, out of a total 4,800 hours needed, he said.
Champaign County is the fourth Salvation Army post in a decade for the Sivelses, who were transferred from Fort Wayne, Ind. They also previously served in Mason City, Iowa, and Watertown, S.D.
The couple first met in a Salvation Army bible camp in Wisconsin. Now living in Urbana, they have two daughters, ages 3 and 5.
Kenyon Sivels, 36, went to a Salvation Army church as a child, and spent about a year in foster care when his parents were in drug and alcohol treatment before they became clean and sober, he said.
He felt a calling to the ministry, he said, and what he appreciates about the Salvation Army is that it offers both the opportunity to teach and to do for others.
Jesus spoke and taught, he said, but he also did.
"He fed, he healed, he tangibly loved," he said.
Melissa Sivels, 32, grew up in the Chicago and Peoria areas, with her parents in Salvation Army leadership.
"It was always part of my upbringing," she said.
"We're happy to be here. We're thrilled to be in Champaign County serving people," Kenyon Sivels said. "We're thankful for the generosity so far. We know times are tough, but we are asking people humbly to give."
Proceeds will go to food and housing assistance, social services, shelter for local veterans and Christmas gifts for families struggling to make ends meet.
In addition to the staffed red kettles, there will also be opportunities to donate via 60 mini countertop kettles at businesses throughout Champaign County.
The larger red kettles are staffed by bell ringers each Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To volunteer as a bell-ringer, sign up at registertoring.com.
To donate, go to SAChampaign.org.
