Valley Salvation Army locations struggling to meet fundraising goals
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Salvation Army locations are struggling to meet their Red Kettle Campaign fundraising goals as the donation drive comes to a close.
Lt. Alex Senak said that the Allegheny Valley Worship and Service Center’s campaign has only raised $52,643, well short of its goal of $125,000 by Christmas Eve.
That leaves volunteers about a week to raise more than $72,000.
Allegheny Valley lost about $12,000 because Thanksgiving fell a week later than usual, Senak said. In an attempt to plan ahead, many area Salvation Army locations participated in the Red Kettle Run, a 5K run fundraiser, and adjusted the 2019 fundraising goal. Normally, the Allegheny Valley center raises $130,000.
The Salvation Army’s Western Pennsylvania Division, which oversees all of the locations in the area, also placed red kettles at Giant Eagle stores the Monday before Thanksgiving, giving bell ringers an extra three days to fundraise. The organization also introduced Apple Pay and Google Pay options for digital donations.
Senak said the Red Kettle Campaign makes up nearly a quarter of the organization’s annual budget. If Allegheny Valley is unable to meet the fundraising goal, it could hurt some of the programs planned for 2020. The Red Kettle Campaign funds afterschool programs, community feeding initiatives, basketball leagues, backpack distributions and provides support for rent and utility costs for some area residents.
“We would definitely have to revisit our budget,” Senak said. “These are all things we’d have to reevaluate.”
The New Kensington and Kiski Valley locations, which are in the process of combining services, have a total fundraising goal of $94,000, said Capt. Phillip Davies, director of the New Kensington location. Davies said meeting the goal by next week will be close.
New Kensington had a difficult campaign last year after the city’s Kmart closed. The store was one of the Salvation Army’s most profitable bell ringing spots in the area, Davies said. The campaign is going better this year.
This year, the New Kensington and Kiski Valley locations have raised about $55,000, leaving them around $40,000 left to raise.
“It’ll be very close for us,” Davies said. “The community has been very supportive of us thus far, we just need continued support all the way through Christmas Eve.”