Bell ringing fund-raising more than a drop in the bucket
It would appear people in Fayette County were in a giving spirit this holiday season, if final tallies for Salvation Army holiday kettle drives are any indication.
At the Salvation Army office in Uniontown, officials reported last week that contributions to this year's campaign exceeded the unit's goal of about $42,000 by more than $4,000.
"We had a wonderful year," said Kathy Dorchak, assistant commander for the unit. "We did much better than expected."
Dorchak credited an ample supply of volunteer bell ringers to man kettle sites along with the generosity of residents willing to open their pocketbooks for the campaign's success.
She said this year more individuals served as bell ringers than did groups, clubs and organizations, which in the past had made up the core of the volunteer force.
"For whatever reason, we had a lot more individual people volunteering this year," said Dorchak. "They did a great job making sure the kettles were out there and that the public knew they were out there."
Most of the kettle sites were set up in heavily traveled retail areas like Uniontown Mall and the Wal-Mart Plaza. Some sites were also set in downtown Uniontown.
The Salvation Army service center in Connellsville also reported a strong showing this year. The kettle drive this year totaled more than $7,200, far exceeding the goal of $4,000, according to Gary Wandel, longtime coordinator.
"This was by far the best year ever," said Wandel, a veteran teacher in the Connellsville Area School District. "People really came out this year to support us."
He attributed the campaign's success in large part to the number of individuals, churches and organizations that stepped forward to offer their services as bell ringers. Wandel said the extra help allowed the lone kettle site in front of the Shop 'n Save supermarket along Route 119 to be manned considerably more hours than in the past.
He said that in the past, he relied primarily on Scouts and other young volunteers who were available to man the kettle only during evenings and on weekends. This year however, many more adult volunteers came forward, making it possible to have the kettle out during crucial daytime hours.
"That really made the difference," said Wandel. "We were just out there more with the kettle than we were in the past."
He also said people seemed to be more generous in their giving this year, attributing their largesse to their desire to help those in the Connellsville area who have lost their homes and other possessions in a rash of unsolved fires and to the recent closing of the Anchor Glass Container plant.
"We have a lot of people hurting this year, and I think our community sensed that," said Wandel. "I think our community wanted to do something to help those people."
In Somerset County, officials for the Salvation Army unit in Somerset also reported a better-than-expected campaign. This year's effort netted more than $22,000, considerably higher than last year's total of about $16,000 and about $3,000 more than the goal of $20,000.
"We certainly did better than last year," said Marilyn Albright, unit director. "We're pleased with how it turned out."
Albright said much of the credit goes to the clubs and organizations that signed on to work at kettle locations. "We had a great bunch of volunteers this year," she said. "They really came through for us."
She also credited several banks that waged a friendly competition to see which one could collect the most money for the campaign and a major retail establishment that agreed to match donations made at its site the week before Christmas.
"That's probably what put us over the top," said Albright. "It really made a difference."
In Greene County, the Salvation Army office in Waynesburg came up about $3,000 short of its projected goal of $21,000, according to Steven Magill, unit commander.
"We'll definitely feel it a little bit," he said of the shortfall. "We don't expect to cut services, but we'll have to look for ways to stretch our dollars more. We might also have to go to some of our bigger contributors later in the year."
Bob Wingert, a longtime organizer for the Salvation Army's kettle campaign in Scottdale, said officials have yet to tally all of this year's contributions. "We're still working on it," he said. "We still have some (donations) coming in."
According to Salvation Army officials, kettle drives are usually the main fund-raiser of the year for units, generating as much as 90 percent of annual revenue.
The money is used to support various programs and services offered by the Salvation Army, including emergency rent and utility assistance; toy, food and clothing distributions, school supplies to needy children, summer camps and scholarships.
