WACO, Texas — Waco’s Salvation Army only has four days to receive donations meeting the goal of $180,000.
A few issues have led to the lack of donations to red kettles.
The Salvation Army says volunteer ringers were not accessible as years past.
“Adamantly there have been some very cold days and I’ve been doing four or five hour shift six days a week and it can be very crippling,” said David Skelton, Salvation Army volunteer.
Donations are down for the Salvation Army’s red kettle. The holiday campaign started Nov. 11 — and so far only $109,000 has been raised. Donations have been down since the pandemic.
Ringer David Skelton has volunteered his time for the past four years, no matter the weather conditions.
“Two years ago we were at $145,000. Last year was about $135,000. This year as of now we’re at $109,000 (and) we have 4 days to go,” said Maj. James Taylor, Salvation Army Corps officer.
The money goes to supporting shelters like Men’s Lodge and Sally’s House, as well as the community kitchen that provides free meals every day.
“We are still falling short of that budget," Skelton said. "We have four days left to continue ringing, through Christmas Eve itself, so I urge everyone please consider going to register to ring dot com and sign up for a two hour shift maybe — even a one hour shift."
