Last minute donations help Salvation Army exceed goal
ESCANABA — The future of programs and events put on by the Salvation Army in Escanaba will go on this year, thanks to a late surge in donations to The Annual Kettle of Hope Campaign.
Just before Christmas, Major Ralph Hanson announced that the campaign was struggling, still in search of thousands of dollars to help meet their goal. Shortly after Hanson made the announcement, donations began to pour into the Salvation Army.
At the end of the day, more than $190,000 was raised, surpassing their goal of $185,000.
“It was remarkable. One of the interesting things is we saw an increase of $100 bills being dropped into kettles. Also some substantial checks were dropped into kettles. In addition to that, checks were mailed into us at our office,” said Hanson. “We’ve had several people just walk in, make a cash donation and said ‘we don’t want anything,’ so that’s kind of special,” he added.
By meeting their fundraising goal, the local chapter doesn’t plan on cutting any of its programs that help the community.
“We have our Friendship Kitchen which provides free meals five days a week. We have our ongoing emergency services as well as our casework with homeless individuals in Delta County,” said Hanson.
The Salvation Army provided assistance to over 300 area families during the holidays. The Salvation Army in Escanaba will have a food truck from Feeding America West Michigan on hand Wednesday afternoon.
The mobile pantry offers fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and baked goods. The distribution takes place at 1:30 p.m. on Fifth Avenue South.