SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The Salvation Army is holding the 133rd annual Red Kettle campaign with the goal to raise as much money as possible to help support people, families and the most vulnerable communities overcome hardships during the holiday season.
The Red Kettle campaign is the largest fundraising event for The Salvation Army. The campaign started in 1891 in San Francisco to help provide a free Christmas dinner for 1,000 people struggling with hunger and other problems. The campaign grew to become a global tradition.
In the United States, the campaign helps The Salvation Army serve more than 30 million people annually, with more than 4.5 million seeking assistance during Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Salvation Army says 83% of donations go directly to program funding and when people donate, the money stays in the community to support local programs year-round.
The Salvation Army Del Oro Division serves people in Northern California and Nevada. The region has seen a drop in donations for the Red Kettle campaign.
As of Dec. 6, The Salvation Army Del Oro Division is down almost $1.4 million in donations from this time last year. That's a loss of The Salvation Army being able to provide more than 6 million meals, 21,270 presents for children at Christmas or 43,341 nights of shelter.
"The hard part is with less donations, we can do less," said Major Rio Ray with The Salvation Army. "For all of Northern California, we are down about 12% compared to the previous year. That means we have a big goal in these last couple of weeks that we need to rise another $1.2 million throughout Northern California. In Sacramento, that's about $180,000 that we still have left to raise. But I'm confident that we will be able to do it because we serve a generous community."
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The Salvation Army says the drop in donations, in part, is a result of "COVID giving fatigue, the insecure economy and rising food costs."
"It's money that's raised that can help people throughout the year," said Ray. "These are nights of shelter, hot meals being served, emergency disaster responses and opportunities where we can help kids that are in need, whether it's tutoring or toys under the Christmas tree."
Doug Dunkly is passionate about giving back. He spends hours ringing a bell at the Bel Air grocery store in Elk Grove. Doug has volunteered with The Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign since 2006. He says it's the people he meets in the community that keeps him ringing the bell.
"We are blessed when we give," said Dunkly. "It's more blessed to give than it is to receive. It's not just me that I guess who has a heart. There's a lot people that donate that have a heart. That's really why I'm here. It's the people telling me their stories. People tell me how The Salvation Army has helped them. It's the season of giving. When they give here, they know that there's a history and a tradition that's going to be put into the right place."
The Salvation Army is also in need of more volunteers to be bell ringers for at least 3 hours during the holiday season. People can also participate in the virtual Red Kettle campaign. To learn more about ways to volunteer or give, visit The Salvation Army website HERE.
"There's a lot of need in this world, but when we all work together , we can make a difference," said Ray. "Whether that's putting change that's in your pocket in a kettle, volunteering, or saying a prayer for someone in need. We can all make a difference by working together."
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