HARLINGEN — “Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!”
That familiar ringing of the bell over a red kettle has become synonymous with Christmas used to draw loads of money in bills and coins for the Salvation Army’s many services.
It still raises some donations but those have dropped off in recent years for a number of reasons. That’s why the Salvation Army is now offering a way to donate to an online red kettle.
“There are a lot of people that want you to give and we’re out in the Wal-Marts all over town,” said Maj. Kelly Durant, corps officer for the Harlingen Salvation Army.
“But quite often,” Durant continued, “people are not out with their cash in hand. But if they want to give, they can do it online.”
People can donate to a virtual red kettle by going to www.salvationarmyharlingen.org. After selecting “Set Up Your Virtual Kettle.” From there, just follow the prompts.
The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign is crucial to the survival of so many people needing assistance, Durant said.
“It’s very important because for our social services we need to have enough income to maintain our locations,” he said. “We need to have a social service secretary that registers people and helps us acquire the food for the food boxes we give away. We also pay electric bills and partial rents, so each month we’re expending somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 to help those in need that have an emergency.”
And when those donations drop off …
“It limits also our ability to help more people,” Durant said.
Several factors have contributed to the decline in donations.
“I would say it’s mostly due to people having limited income because of either being unemployed,” he said. “We’re trying to recruit more volunteers, so we’ve had to adjust for that drop off.”
During the peak of the pandemic, donations decreased significantly because people weren’t going out much. That situation has lessened significantly, but –
“I think this year we do see more traffic of people and the donations are still lower than what they used to be,” he said.
That’s where Virtual Red Kettle comes in.
“A lot of people do things online,” Durant said. “This is a way that they can also, if they want to say in their office, get their friends involved, they can be a coordinator and have their own kettle, and they can get their friends to donate a couple of dollars into it also. It’s a way for us to receive an income through the Internet.”
