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Red Kettle Campaign ‘not going well’

The Red Kettle Campaign, the annual fundraiser by the Salvation Army, “is not going well” this year, according to Captain Keith Jache.

The goal for this year’s drive was $95,000. To date, the campaign has raised only $19,500.

“It’s down about $30,000 from this time last year,” said Jache.

He attributes the change to a couple of factors, but the biggest, he said, is the rain. “People want to get in and get out,” said Jache. Places where bell ringers stand outside, like Walmart, he said, people don’t want to stop. They just want to get out of the rain. When they come out, they want to get to the car.

Another reason Jache thinks donations are down this year is that three of the usual spots where bell ringers could be found around town in the past aren’t available this year. Due to the loss of the extra kettles, Jache said, they moved the campaign up by a couple of weeks. This year, kettles have been out since Nov. 1 and will run right up until the end of the day on Saturday, Dec. 24.

The addition of tabletop kettles at all of the Kwik Fill locations in town is another way the Salvation Army is hoping to spread its reach. They also have kettles at the two main entries at Walmart, inside the entry at Tops, at Shurfine, and Northwest Bank’s main branch office.

Around eight volunteers are manning the kettles this season, with local churches and organizations taking over the bell ringing duties on weekends, Jache said. Employees of Warren State Hospital have also volunteered to ring bells for two full weeks this season.

If people are unable or discouraged from donating at the kettles, Jache said, because of rain or other reasons, “They can always drop checks off here (at the Beech Street location) as well. Or in the kettles. A lot of people prefer to do that because they can use it as a tax deduction.”

There are also two full trees at Northwest’s main branch office for the Treasures for Children campaign, Jache said.

“This money from the kettles goes to provide these toys, food baskets for the holidays, but also to continue to help throughout the winter with food, rent, and utilities” for Warren’s needy families, Jache said.

While this year’s donations are down, Jache extended “thanks for the generosity” so far. “The Salvation Army couldn’t continue to do what they do without the help of the community,” he said.

Jache and his wife Katie are new captains at the Warren Salvation Army.

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