After a disappointing year for donations last year, officials with Salvation Army units serving the Aurora and Naperville areas are hopeful they can reach their goals during this year’s Red Kettle drive, which began recently in the Fox Valley.
However, Salvation Army officials are bracing for yet another challenging year, given the recent government shutdown, a sputtering economy and the challenges of recruiting volunteers and paid bell ringers to work at posts at grocery and department stores in the next few weeks.
Salvation Army Major Corps Officer Joaquin Rangel, who oversees the Aurora Salvation Army center that serves the Naperville and Aurora areas, said his unit began its Red Kettle drive on Nov. 14.
Last year, Rangel adjusted the usual annual goal of the Aurora Salvation Army Red Kettle drive from $200,000 down to $188,000. Despite falling short of that goal last year, this year he is hoping Red Kettle collections and separate outright donations will reach $200,000.
“We are still at the same goal of $200,000. For some reason, we still believe and trust that perhaps we can reach it this year,” he said. “We had about $97,000 a year ago. We know we just had this government shutdown but we think because it’s over – for me, it’s like looking beyond the challenges. We can care for each other, and I know we can pass these blessings along if we touch more people and even share a little of what we have. We see big opportunities to share.”
Last year’s shortfall in donations impacted what the local unit of the Salvation Army could do, Rangel said. He said that while food pantry assistance continued, rental and mortgage payment and utilities support, though still offered to those in need, had to be severely reduced.
“We still gave financial assistance but less of it. Those are the only adjustments we can make,” Rangel explained. “With the amount that we used for financial assistance – we’re still providing it, but in a small way. Still, it’s a blessing for people but that’s the only line we can cut.”
Meanwhile, at the Tri-City Salvation Army Corps, which includes St. Charles, Batavia and Geneva, officials said its Red Kettle campaign stated on Nov. 21 and, like Aurora’s drive, would run through Christmas Eve.
April Alvarez of St. Charles, a lieutenant at the Tri-City Salvation Army Corps, said the unit is making do as best it can this holiday season.
“This year – my husband Joe and I both serve as lieutenants here and we are very short staffed – we only have two part-time employees right now,” she said. “Our financials have all gone toward food. We are struggling to maintain things the way we’ve always done them for right now, just to see how we do for Christmas and whether or not we can afford to hire some staff.”
She said staffing issues kept the unit from beginning its Red Kettle drive earlier.
“We just didn’t have the staff to do so. We didn’t have enough paid employees at our Salvation Army location – the Community Center,” Alvarez said. “We’d normally have a social services director and a resource development director and a volunteer coordinator because nearly 100% of what we do is by volunteers. We had four full-time employees last year and this year we have two part-timers. It’s been a struggle.”
Last year’s Red Kettle goal for the Tri-City Salvation Army Corps was $150,000, a goal that was not met.
Alvarez said the goal this time is again $150,000, “and if we could get $200,000 we could hire staff again.”
“In order to hire staff in the new year we are going to have to agree that we’re just putting all our eggs in this basket and hoping for the best,” she said.
“The Red Kettle is what keeps our lights on and building running and pays for our staff. The direct donations – people that write a check to us – that can go for direct help paying rent and utility bills,” she said. “Everything we raise on the Red Kettle keeps our food pantry running and ordering the food through the Northern Illinois Food Bank and having a public access bathroom which we legally have to have if we have a food pantry – all of those different things and administrative positions as well.”
Salvation Army units around the Chicago area have experienced problems in recent years finding enough bell ringers for the Red Kettle campaign.
Rangel with the Aurora Salvation Army unit said “things usually start slow” and will include volunteers from various clubs like Kiwanis and the Lions Club, along with “about 18-20 paid volunteers we have approved.”
“We always can use more volunteers definitely,” he said. “We also have churches like St. Mark’s on Edgelawn and the New England Congregational Church on Galena – they are faithful and always on board.”
The weekend before Thanksgiving, Rangel and company got a boost from a father and son team who were manning the Red Kettle post at the Jewel-Osco store at 1952 W. Galena Blvd. in Aurora.
Vinood Sookoo of Aurora and his son Nicholas, 14, began their shift at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“This is our first time. We wanted to give back to the community and I wanted to show my son it’s not just about academics, it’s about being part of society and giving back,” Sookoo said. “I’m going to bring him as much as he wants – this wasn’t me. He said, ‘We’re going to do this’ and I like that he opens up himself to try anything.”
Nicholas, who attends Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy in Aurora, said “I know people don’t see kids doing this and maybe it will help collections, but it’s nice to raise awareness in the community.”
Despite its later start, Alvarez with the Tri-City Salvation Army Corps says Red Kettle posts will be manned this year. She said donations to the Salvation Army are needed now more than ever.
Because of concerns about SNAP funding, “we’ve seen an increase in first-time people coming for food assistance … we’re seeing about 50% per week of people who are brand new that never signed up before,” she said.
“Many are saying ‘I used to donate to you guys and now we’re in a situation where we need your help,’” Alvarez added. “We’re seeing more people just on the cusp of poverty falling down into that new level where they are seeking assistance. It’s more noticeable in the Tri-Cities because more of our people are usually higher income than many of the surrounding cities. Now, people here are losing jobs or SNAP food benefits or Social Security and finding themselves asking ‘Do I pay rent, pay the utilities or buy food?’”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
