Salvation Army’s ‘Red Kettle’ Campaign falls Short but Services Are in High Demand

Norman Parish | As of Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Darrell Watson was a Salvation Army bell ringer this past Christmas. He said he hit his goals but the Salvation Army is struggling to get contributions.
Darrell Watson was a Salvation Army bell ringer this past Christmas. He said he hit his goals but the Salvation Army is struggling to get contributions. Photo by Norman Parish.

The red metal kettle was overflowing with money as Salvation Army bell ringer Darrell Watson greeted customers flocking into a crowded Kmart just outside of Chicago.

The resident of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood said he had reached his daily goal of roughly $325 – something he accomplished regularly this Christmas season.

“I have been feeling it up every night,” said Watson, as he stood in front of his kettle at the entrance of the Kmart store at 7325 W. 79th St. in Bridgeview, Ill.

But the amount of cash Watson collected was unusual.

This winter the Salvation Army’s Chicago metropolitan “red kettle” campaign, which ended last week, fell short of its $2.5 million goal. It raised $1.9 million, said Chez Ordonez, manager of public affairs at the Salvation Army.

The shortfall was mainly caused by a tough local economy and protests on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago over the city’s police, Ordonez said. Protests dramatically curbed shopping on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Michigan Avenue also is the site where the Salvation Army usually receives large donations, Ordonez said.

The shortfall, along with other factors, also is harming the Salvation Army’s overall Christmas season fund-raising efforts, which ends Jan. 31.

That goal is $17 million, Ordonez said.

The fund-raising problems come as the Salvation Army’s services in the area are in demand as much as ever.

Requests were up in 2015 for emergency assistance, rehabilitation services, disaster services, food and child care, according to Salvation Army statistics.

For example, 1.45 million meals were provided to people in 2015, while 1.42 million were in 2014.

Emergency assistance services, including rent, clothing and prescription drugs, were provided to 140,715 people in 2015 – more than a 1,000 more people than the previous year.

Watson, who now lives in an apartment, said he knows from a personal standpoint how important the Salvation Army is to the needy.

In the 1990s, Watson said he was down on his luck, so he received food and housing assistance from the Salvation Army.

At one point, he was homeless and living under a bridge, Watson recalled.

“The lord helped me turn my life around,” said Watson, who also is a maintenance worker.

And the Salvation Army “helped me out,” he said.

Watson is paid $10 an hour as a bell ringer by the Salvation Army.

Ordonez wants to encourage Chicago area residents to contribute as much as they can even though the “red kettle” campaign is over.

“We need donations,” Ordonez said. “People need to donate as much as possible. We still have an active Christmas campaign.”

To make a donation, call 773-725-1100.

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