Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Popular donation program suffers cutbacks


The start of the Kettle Bell Campaign is only a few weeks away and The Salvation Army already has plans to eliminate wages, making the campaign volunteer based and therefore saving money for resources within the organization.
According to Andrea Glinski, Red Kettle and Volunteer Coordinator, the Salvation Army usually employs up to 90 bell ringers and truck drivers throughout the campaign, 15 percent of them from the West Side. 
 This year, with a new kettle coordinator, changes are in effect and the campaign is only employing about half as many people, in hopes that more volunteers will come forward throughout the holidays. 
"We propose that within the next 3-4 years, the kettle campaign will be 100 percent volunteer based. This will save the organization $130,000 each year," said Glinski. 
The extra money saved will be put back in the organization to increase its resources amongst the three locations, Grant Street being one of them.
"The hope is that more money within the organization will go towards the food pantry, english speaking and garment making classes and other resources provided at The Salvation Army," said Glinski. 
The organizations website, buffalosalvationarmy.org, also lists the objectives and additional resources provided by The Salvation Army to the surrounding communities and how areas like the West Side can evolve from its services.
"Although this employment cut may seem like a big change to some, the benefits from saving the additional money will truly help the organization provide its community members with the resources and services that may be hard to obtain on their own," said Glinski. By Chanice Johnson and Jennine Taberski