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The Salvation Army is one of the most recognized charities in Canada. And while this is a time of giving, the organization says that this holiday season, people are giving less, meaning the organization isn’t meeting it’s financial targets.
If you’ve heard this bell outside your local mall, you’ll know it’s the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign.
The Salvation Army relies on the campaign to fund their holiday and year round assistance programs. But donations are down this year and that’s hampering their ability to reach out to everyone in need.
Dan Millar is with the Salvation Army: “We’re about $35,000 down from this same period last year. We’re trying to ramp up as many volunteers on the kettle as we can. Still it has to be people donating.”
The organization set a goal to raise $600,000 by Christmas. That’s only one week away now, and they are short by over $247,000. The United Way is another charitable organization feeling the pinch with Christmas mere days away. And that has far reaching consequences for those they serve.
Richard Koroscil is with the United Way: “We have less to re-invest in our community agencies that we support, which means they have less to work with in terms of helping people in their community.”
A recent study on charitable giving found 23% of Canadian tax filers claimed a charitable donation in 2013. But in 2005, that number was 25%. That same study showed that those who are giving are giving to registered charities like the Salvation Army are actually giving less and less every single year.”
Vikki Cecchetto donates freely every year to the Salvation Army, but admits there are a lot of people asking for her well earned money: “I think there is a bit of fatigue. Your’e being asked all over the place and sometimes your reaction is “Oh, Heaven’s sake, not another one.”
The Salvation Army and United Way attribute donations being down this year to the ecomony. Many people are on fixed budgets and simply have less and less to give. The Salvation Army serves some 1.8 million people across the country and their kettle campaign will end on Christmas Eve at around 2pm.
They are asking the community to dig deep into their pockets to help them reach their goal. If you’d like to help, go to www.fillthekettle.com or call 1-800-sal-army.
