Salvation Army helps the needy, but now it needs help

The most wonderful time of year is quickly approaching, but it’s not so great for some.

The Salvation Army is expecting its annual free Thanksgiving dinner to be one of its biggest yet because those who struggle on a daily basis are still playing catch up from the financial impacts caused by Hurricane Irma.

“I know a lot of people were telling us they had to miss work because of the storm,” said Kelly French, director of communications and development.

Salvation Army Major George Patterson, who took the helm of the Bradenton facility in June, said because of those lost salaries, “People are behind to the point where they are still having to choose between groceries and paying bills. They lost what they had in their freezers and that made it a difficult time. Imagine how disappointing that is to be struggling and get home after the storm to have to throw out a couple of hundred dollars worth of food.”

The holiday season is the Salvation Army’s biggest and most crucial fund-raising time of the year. To make matters worse the charitable agency is often the target of scammers who try to take the money generous people want to give to the Salvation Army.

The latest attempt is a telemarketing effort from a company calling itself Vivardo making calls claiming to represent the Salvation Army and say they are taking donations on their behalf. It is a fake company. The Salvation Army does not do a telemarketing campaign to raise funds.

What’s not fake is the annual red kettle campaign, launching on Monday at a Walmart, Publix or Sam’s Club near you.

Kettles are essential to us,” Patterson said. “Our budget year ends Sept. 30 and at that time we are getting close to the line. We depend on Christmas and our mail campaign to get the funds we need. Christmas is a time when people are really generous and they are good to the Salvation Army and in turn, the Salvation Army can be good to the community that we serve.”

And serve they do with their many programs, but next on the list is the annual Thanksgiving feast where more than 200 turkeys with all the fixings will serve an estimated 500 individuals and families.

At the head of the cooking team is Tom Giglio, who said the dinner will include 300 pounds of stuffing, 275 pounds of mashed potatoes, 225 pounds of green beans, 100 pies, 40 pounds of cranberry and 700 dinner rolls.

The annual dinner has been moved from its afternoon time to noon until 1 p.m. this year. Currently, the Salvation Army has about 25 turkeys and is in need of more birds as well as what is needed for side dishes and pies. Donations can be dropped off at 1204 14th St. W. Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Monetary donations are welcome as well. French said those donations help with the many Salvation Army programs, including its nightly dinners, when they feed about 250 people each meal. Other programs benefiting from donations include disaster relief, assistance for the disabled and elderly outreach.

“In the big scheme of things, we got so lucky,” French said. “But that doesn’t mean people aren’t still struggling because of the impact of the storm.”

Giglio said Thanksgiving is a hectic time in his kitchen, “But all you see is smiles,” he said. “Everybody is welcome because we are all family here.”

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Salvation Army helps the needy, but now it needs help."