By JIM MEYER – Staff Writer
With holiday sales in full swing, shoppers have probably noticed the familiar sound of ringing bells heralding the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Christmas Campaign.
Though this is the season to be giving, the Salvation Army’s Western Pennsylvania Division has reported that donations are down from last year by nearly $64,000.
Captain Laura Duesenberry, of the Oil City Corps, said the Oil City and Franklin centers took a hit by losing soliciting locations.
Duesenberry said that an increasing number of businesses have adopted no-solicitation policies due to more organizations requesting permission to solicit.
“It used to be that the Salvation Army was it,” Duesenberry said. “Now there are so many requests that they can’t honor them all, and many of those businesses support the community in other ways.”
Another reason donations are down, Duesenberry said, was because of the series of natural disasters that struck the country this year. She cited donor fatigue, when people become overwhelmed or apathetic and stop donating, as well people being financially unable to give.
“It may be that people just don’t have the funds,” she said.
One way in which the Salvation Army has attempted to offset the loss of locations is to invite businesses, families or individuals to sponsor a kettle. For a donation, the sponsor will have their business recognized on a sign near the kettle locations.
“For each of our locations, we have a $45,000 goal, and the monies collected in that location stay in that location to provide services,” Duesenberry said. “It’s going to be a struggle for us to make that goal, but we’re hoping to make the final push.”
A challenge to secure donations is playing out this year with the Clarion County Salvation Army as well.
One of the problems, Vowinckel said, is finding enough volunteers.
“We just can’t get people to ring the bell,” she said.
Vowinckel also said that in the Clarion area, just as in Oil City and Franklin, people seem to have less money to give this year, possibly due to the hurricanes earlier this year or personal financial struggles.
“It used to be fives and tens, and now it’s a handful of change,” she said. “Probably with the hurricanes, people gave earlier what they would’ve normally given at Christmas.”
