Write a commentThe Salvation Army Christmas kettles throughout Oswego County are running behind schedule to meet this year’s $70,000 goal.
About $45,000 has been received, leaving $35,000 to be raised in the few days remaining before Christmas. Captain Heather Odom noted that, “the snows in recent days have restricted the number of shoppers passing kettle locations. We have enough volunteers to stand with the kettles but we hope for more shoppers that will be generous with their contributions. With more people shopping on line there are fewer people passing our kettles on their way into the stores.” The Army never puts kettles out on Sundays, so the final day for this year will be Saturday, December 23.
While Christmas meals, gifts, and clothing are important at this time of year, contributions received through the kettles are used to provide all sorts of Army services to people in need in Oswego County throughout the year. In October, the Corps provided 1,489 soup kitchen meals in Oswego and 926 in Fulton. It provided 90 Oswego households with groceries for 2,268 meals and 122 Fulton households with groceries for 3,006 meals. It also distributed about 800 loaves of bread. Seventeen households purchased low-cost foods through the Food Sense program of the Food Bank of Central New York. The Corps operates a Bridging the Gap program that teaches life skills and gives a second chance to young people that have made poor decisions.
Contributions may be made online at: give.salvationarmyusa.org, or they may be dropped off at the Center for Worship and Service, 73 West Second Street in Oswego, or mailed to PO Box 146, Oswego, NY 13126. All gifts originating in Oswego County will be used in Oswego County.
