Salvation Army suffering from lack of volunteers in SWFL

The Salvation Army’s kettle bell ringers have already appeared outside storefronts to raise money for families in need, but the pandemic has led the charity organization struggle in putting on its largest fundraiser this year.

The Salvation Army divisions in Lee and Collier counties said they saw around a 40-50% decrease in volunteers in 2020, making it hard to meet their financial goals and provide for people in need.

“That’s a really tough place for us to be, because we depend upon our volunteers; we cannot be an army, a Salvation Army, without our army of volunteers, ” said Maj. Carlyle Gargis, area commander of the Salvation Army of Lee, Hendry and Glades counties. “We’re providing shelter for individuals 365 days a year, we’re providing meals for people 365 days a year, food boxes for folks in great need, really those life-sustaining needs.”

To help keep people safe, the Salvation Army has disposable aprons, masks and gloves for its volunteers to use. The organization says that while this is a holiday fundraiser, many people don’t realize how far their donations go—without it, the charity would be in trouble.

“If you couldn’t have had it? It would’ve been substantial,” Gargis said. “This is our greatest fundraiser that we do, that not only helps us at Christmas, but it helps the Salvation Army throughout the year.”

“The reality is that the money that goes into those kettles during the Christmas season helps to operate 365 days a year,” said Capt. Ben Bridges of the Salvation Army of Naples. “So it helps keep people housed, it helps keep the lights on for folks, that helps us keep our doors open to our affordable childcare center and our after-school program.”

Something new the Salvation Army tried this year is its virtual red kettle. You can go online and create a team or raise money individually, and the money raise will stay in your community.