PENNSYLVANIA, USA — It’s crunch time for the Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle Campaign, with less than two weeks left to go.
Even though it’s supposed to be a time of giving – donations have seemingly taken a dip this year.
“We're about 15% behind right now where we'd like to be," Tony Mark with The Salvation Army in Harrisburg said.
A decrease in donations across south central Pennsylvania is causing concern since the seasonal effort funds their operations year round.
"If we don't hit the goals that we set now during the seasonal time, it's difficult for us to make that up in other ways," Mark said.
Among the issues is a shortage of volunteers. The Salvation Army has struggled in years prior to get bell ringers out, though the issue has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We always say that joyful ringers bring joyful givers," Mark said. "Without those volunteers ringing the bells and interacting with the shoppers, it’s harder to ring in those donations."
Economic challenges from inflation are also putting a larger hole in people’s wallets this year.
Salvation Army officials in both York and Lebanon told FOX43 via email they are only at about 56% of their respective fundraising goals.
The York Corps says it even lowered its goal by nearly $40,000 less than last year's total donations in response to inflation.
Digital donations through QR codes and the Salvation Army website are helping since less and less people are carrying cash in hand.
Mark says scaling back on services is not an option since demand is so high.
"We've got so many people, so many more people in need because of inflation," Mark said. "Because of the challenges we've experienced over the past few years, there is no way we can cut services.
Adjusting how they give back could be their next big challenge.
"We're going to have to try to make up those donations around the year and other ways," Mark said. "It's just more difficult."
Below are links to donate to Red Kettle Campaigns in our area.