Help the Salvation Army reach their fundraising goal this season
BALTIMORE — Every December, you see a festive Salvation Army helper outside a store with a red kettle.
But this year, The Salvation Army is worried they won't meet their Christmas fundraising goal by tomorrow night.
"We are facing a serious deficit right now," Capt. Matthew Tidman with The Salvation Army of Central Maryland said.
The Salvation Army is down $100,000 this holiday season with the Red Kettle Christmas Campaign.
This money goes to the food pantry, sheltering human trafficking victims, even keeping youth programs open.
"I think of Franklin Square where our Salvation Army temple is," Tidman said. "I think of Middle River where our Salvation Army is there. They both run very vibrant and very active Boys and Girls Clubs because there are a lot of at-risk kids in those communities that just need a safe place to go."
Tidman said this year they have fewer volunteers and the red kettles are looking bare.
"We're sending out about half as many buckets this year in comparison to the previous year," he added.
He said online shopping, inflation and even remnants of a coin shortage could be the culprits.
"It can be tied into the fact that we are still seeing a coin shortage in a lot of places," he said. "We are getting a lot less coins in our buckets than we normally do."
Overall, The Salvation Army needs $10 million a year to serve the central Maryland area, including Baltimore, Glen Burnie, Howard County, Harford County and Carroll County. But this year, they are down by half a million dollars.
Though the charity does not want to say no to people in need, Tidman said in the new year they may have to rethink which programs can stay.
Christmas Eve is your last chance to make a donation at an outside red kettle, or you can donate online on their website.
