Salvation Army needs help from the community
One charity in Mid-Missouri said it is in dire need of help from the community.
The Salvation Army in Columbia still needs hundreds of gift donations by early next week. And Red Kettle donations are down by thousands of dollars, it said.
Each year, the Salvation Army gives families in need toys for children, groceries and more to ensure they are able to have a happy holiday that they may not otherwise.
The organization puts “Angel Trees” in the Walmarts across the city in mid-November to collect toy donations for the children. But because of a communication error, the trees were not put up until this week, nearly a month late.
The Salvation Army in Columbia usually gives about 1,800 to 2,700 gifts to children from the angel tree donations, it said. And this year, it still needs about 75 percent of those gifts by early next week. That is when the gifts are scheduled to be distributed to the families.
“We’ll do whatever we have to,” Major Beth Trimmell with the Salvation Army said. “I mean we won’t have children going without gifts, but they might not get what they want.”
The Salvation Army also said this year’s Red Kettle donations are down considerably. It still needs about $14,000 by December 24. The holiday donations are used to fund the organization year-round.
“This is the time of year, this is really our only real big financial push,” Trimmell said. “And what we raise now will determine what we can provide for the year, basically. And our homeless shelter, Harbor House, is funded, a lot of the funding comes through the money that comes in at Christmas time. And so it’s really vital to us that we get the funds in that are needed.”
The Salvation Army also said it still needs dozens of volunteers for next week to help put together the gifts and distribute them to the families. If you would like to help, its phone number is (573)442-3229.
You can also find the angel tags inside any of the Columbia and Jefferson City Walmart locations.
The Voluntary Action Center could also use some more volunteers to help with distributing holiday gifts to families next week, it said. Its phone number is (573)874-2273.
