Salvation Army shy of funds and bell ringers

Renee Berg, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Dec. 19—MANKATO — Not only are the red kettle collections behind the Salvation Army's fundraising goals for the season, but the Mankato nonprofit is also finding it is about 100 volunteers shy this ringing season.

"We see probably 200 percent more giving that happens when someone is out there smiling and ringing the bell," said Salvation Army Capt. Andy Wheeler. "We need as many volunteers as we can get. Probably close to the 100 mark. There are still over 100 hours to cover."

At the Mankato Salvation Army's 12 red kettles, only three of which are indoors, thus far this ringing season the drive is at under 40 percent of its massive $525,000 holiday fundraising goal. The red kettle initiative is critical to The Salvation Army, as nearly 80 percent of its fundraising occurs in the last three months of the year, according to a news release.

"These funds are needed to provide struggling families with meals, emergency shelter, and emergency financial assistance throughout the year," the release stated.

The Salvation Army red kettles continue to accept cash, coin, check but also offer digital payment options, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, PayPal, QR code scanning or text "KatoCares" to 24365.

Donors may also deliver checks or cash in person to 700 S. Riverfront Drive during this campaign, which ends on Christmas Eve.

"The Salvation Army reports it is under 40 percent of the massive goal, still being down over $50,000 from this point in collections from the previous season," the release said.

Wheeler went on to say corporate donors are doing something inspiring and unique this year. The first event is "Mega Monday Mani." The details are simple: raise $30,000 in one day through every avenue of giving. Corporate donors have already given this amount and would love to see the community match their efforts this way, he said.

The second event will be called "Triple Twenty Tuesday." There the corporate donors, along with some anonymous donations, have given $21,000. Exactly 1,050 $20 bills in the kettles would match the corporate doors for Tuesday's event.

"I think with this community, and the goodness of the God we serve, I think anything is possible," Wheeler said of The Salvation Army's challenge to raise $525,000.