The holiday season can often be characterized by Christmas trees, wreaths, and decorations, and for some, the familiar sight of a red kettle and the sound of a ringing bell as Salvation Army volunteers collect donations.
The Salvation Army’s 133rd Red Kettle Campaign kicked off earlier this year during the halftime show for the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game against the Washington Commanders on November 23. Donations to this year’s campaign, like previous iterations, will be directed toward aiding struggling Americans with food, rent, utilities, and even Christmas gifts.
“Throughout the year that same local Salvation Army provides specific programs to aid the poor and needy such as food, emergency and transitional shelter, job training, financial assistance, daycare and after-school care, youth recreation, and development programs,” reads the organization’s website. “In some larger communities, the services are far more complex and will include drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers and hospice care for AIDS victims and their families.”
With the organization’s Red Kettle Campaign in full swing, here are some of the ways that those donations will be used in the North Texas area.
Funds raised last year went on to aid almost 24 million people. Area commander Maj. Paul McFarland told the Fort Worth Report that the campaign raises $1.5 million annually in the North Texas area. Of these locally raised funds, approximately $650,000 is raised in Tarrant County.
Some of these donations are used to fund Salvation Army locations in the DFW metroplex such as the Northside location in Fort Worth, the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Social Service Center, and the Catherine Booth Friendship House, which offers single women and chemically dependent mothers food and shelter.
“It really is our annual big fundraising campaign,” said McFarland, per the FWR. “I’d say 50% of the funds we raise for the year come during October, November, and December.”
Funds sent to the Mabee Center are allocated to various programs that seek to provide struggling North Texans stability, such as the Emergency Family Homeless Shelter, Home Sweet Home for Homeless Prevention, the Simon Transitional Housing Program, and many more, per the FWR.
According to the Salvation Army, the average cost of supporting a resident at the Mabee Center ranges between $35 and roughly $110 per day, reported the FWR. The money goes towards things like shelter, food, and transportation, as well as things like sheets, blankets, and pillows.
Concetta Ledig, a local Salvation Army volunteer who stood outside Westworth Village Sam’s Club, was inspired to volunteer to encourage locals to support those in need.
“Oftentimes people think of The Salvation Army as just a homeless organization,” said Ledig, according to the FWR. “But then you start talking to people about everything this money goes to … and they have no idea.”
Ledig uses her service to teach her children, aged 9, 11, and 13, the same lesson of humility that her grandfather taught her.
“I always tell them, ‘Never pass by a kettle without throwing at least a penny in,'” said Ledig, per the FWR. “You never know when the shoe is going to be on the other foot.”
Local cities, including Flower Mound, Bartonville, Lewisville, and The Colony are engaged in a friendly fundraising challenge to benefit this year’s Red Kettle Campaign. Donations for the fundraising challenge will be accepted through December 31.
