Wrapping up its annual Red Kettle campaign, the Columbus Salvation Army chapter surpassed this season’s goal, raising a total of $102,298 to fund assistance throughout the year.
After falling $13,000 short of its $73,000 goal in 2022, branch Capt. Thomas Johnson set a lofty goal of $100,000 in 2023. Johnson attributed the success to workers and volunteers that rang bells at various locations each day.
“This year we did really well with volunteers,” he said. “Volunteers were knocking it out of the park.”
The Red Kettle campaign takes place each year and is the organization’s largest fundraiser. This year the campaign started with a kickoff on Nov. 17 and ended just before Christmas on Dec. 23. Paid and volunteer workers rang bells outside of designated locations to collect money that helps fund the organization’s assistance efforts throughout the next year.
“Making that goal will allow us to continue the services we provide whether it’s social services, whether it’s energy assistance, clothing voucher systems or assistance with housing,” Johnson said. “It just allows us more opportunities to continue that.”
The services the donations will help fund include social assistance, like casework services and rental assistance, as well as community resources like the Salvation Army Family Store and food pantries.
At the campaign kickoff in November, Johnson told The Dispatch a decrease in bell ringers in 2022 made it difficult to meet that year’s smaller goal.
This go round, the season started stronger with 30 to 40 individuals to ring bells. Bell ringers were stationed with a kettle outside of 14 locations in Columbus including Walmart, Sunflower and Kroger. With more volunteers ringing bells this year, Johnson said he was confident that the goal would be met.
Along with volunteers from the community, members of the Salvation Army’s Back to Work program also rang donation bells.
“Those that are struggling to find work get to have a seasonal job, and some are able to then find full-time jobs,” he said. “We’re able to kind of vouch for them and say … ‘they did what they were supposed to do,’ that kind of thing. That was very successful this year as well.”
Johnson thanked the community for giving and said the donations will allow the organization to better meet the growing needs of the community.
“When they saw the kettles out, they donated and helped us be able to surpass that goal,” Johnson said. “Since times are even more so tough, we’re able to continue to even expand outside of what we’ve done in the previous years.”
Starkville’s Salvation Army chapter is still waiting for a final tally for its 2023 Red Kettle campaign, Service Center Manager Tatiana Burgess said Thursday. The chapter set its goal for $75,000, after raising only $36,000 in 2022.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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