Red Kettle campaign persists despite limited volunteers

BLACKFOOT — As an iconic fundraising campaign nears its end for the Christmas season, officials are hoping for a big final push in donations.

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign is currently far behind its donation goals in Bingham County and needs more people to volunteer to ring the bells before the campaign ends on Christmas Eve. Bannock County and Bonneville County are doing better, but also need more volunteers and donations.

“It doesn’t matter what you give. It can just be pocket change,” said Orinda Newman, Bingham County Program Manager for Southeastern Idaho Community Action Agency (SEICAA). “Everything that we gather in the short time matters and it does add up.”

The funds raised from the Red Kettle campaign go towards social programs in the counties where the money was donated. Many of the programs are run by the Salvation Army, but in some places it donates the funds to an outside organization.

In Bannock and Bonneville counties, the money goes toward the Salvation Army’s own programs and in Bingham County it goes towards SEICAA. Captain Ernie Evans of the Salvation Army in Bannock County said many people don’t realize the money stays in the local community.

“(People will) walk a check in and say that they don’t want it going to Portland or California. If the check is addressed to here, it’s coming here,” Evans said. “We’ve very accountable to funds.”

All three counties have volunteer spots available and are looking for people to ring the bells. Even Bonneville, which has hired bell ringers, needs people to come and volunteer.

“Half my kettle stands are standing empty,” said Captain Steve Staneart of Bonneville County. “Each one of those represents between $30 to $50 an hour, and if someone is out there ringing the bell for us, it’s just like giving us a $50 bill.”

Newman said that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have “rallied” for the campaign and helped bring in funds, but there’s still plenty of time in the coming days that need to be filled with volunteers.

“I have lots of spots available for multiple days,” Newman said.

While the Red Kettle campaign still raises money, it’s not bringing in as much as it used to. In Bingham County, the campaign raised $16,354 last year, while it raised $19,004 in 2021.

This year, the campaign is still around $4,500 shy of the amount raised last year.

“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks there will be a big push and people will donate a little extra so we can at least meet that,” Newman said.

In Bonneville County, they’ve raised $38,735 this year so far, which is a huge jump from the $9,972 raised last year and the $14,628 they raised in 2021. In 2019 and 2020, they raised $63,193 and $53,558 respectively.

While Bonneville had hired bellringers before 2021 and 2022, they only used volunteers those two years, which is likely why there was such a huge drop.

In the last four years, the amount raised in Bannock county has steadily declined. In 2020, the Red Kettle campaign raised $104,509. Last year, it raised $65,641.

This decline can likely be attributed to a number of reasons.

Staneart said every year, shopping online gets more popular, so fewer people are walking past the kettles.

Newman pointed out that the cost of living has been going up, and people are more likely to hold onto the money they have.

“The economy is affecting a lot of people right now with the cost of groceries, the cost of gas — just the daily things that you need in order to survive. It can be very expensive this time of year,” Newman said.

The cost of living makes it even more important that the Red Kettle campaign meets its funding goals, he pointed out.

In Bingham county, the funds go towards SEICAA’s programs that assist people with meeting the cost of living. People who meet income qualifications can get assistance with utilities and rent, vouchers for motels and gas.

“If you’re struggling and you have young children, or you’re disabled or you have elderly in the home, it can be very stressful to know that you can’t pay your bills,” Newman said.

In Bannock County, the Salvation Army runs a soup kitchen and a warming center. They offer adult and youth education and enrichment classes and they also provide energy assistance to households in need.

Newman encourages anyone with available time to sign up to ring the bells before Christmas Eve.

“It’s an hour out of your day and you are helping your community by ringing that bell so people will donate,” Newman said.

Evans said that when they don’t have bellringers out, the Salvation Army starts getting calls from people asking where they are, “because they expect it.”

“All you’re doing is saying Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays … smiling and ringing a bell. It goes a long ways,” Evans said.

Newman said people can find a feeling of fulfillment by ringing the bells and assisting their community.

“It’s the reason why we collect the money, so that we can help people who need the assistance,” he said.

And for people who don’t have much to donate, Newman said that even donating pocket change helps the campaign.

“You’d be surprised how much comes from a container of pennies and quarters,” Newman said.