Rogers Mayor Steve Womack lets Salvation Army bell ringer Caitlyn Williford of Fayetteville select the first bill Wednesday to go into the donation kettle.
Photo by Flip Putthoff
Demand for the Salvation Army’s services is up this year in Northwest Arkansas.
But the organization’s regional branch has the same goal as last year for its annual Christmas kettle fundraiser: Bell ringers will try to raise $350,000, said Maj. Tim Williford, area commander.
Williford said the organization has had about a 25 percent increase in requests for its services this year.
Williford said he hopes to make up for the increased demand in other ways, such as boosting sales at the organization’s thrift stores.
The group kicked o◊the kettle fundraiser Wednesday at a Harps grocery on North Second Street in Rogers with a brass band and a $1,000 donation from Harps Food Stores.
Mayor Steve Womack made a donation during the ceremony.
“When money goes into that kettle, it goes to help people in need,” he said.
The money from kettles is used for more than holiday meals, said Sharon Robinson, volunteer coordinator for the organization’s Northwest Arkansas branch. The money will be used to help run the army’s local shelters, feeding programs and social services for the coming year.
The Salvation Army runs shelters in Fayetteville and Bentonville, and feeding programs in Fayetteville, Bentonville and Springdale, Robinson said.
The organization also offers clothing programs, drug rehabilitation and, sometimes, help with medication and utilities,Robinson said.
Barbara Whitlow, director of social services for the Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas, said families who never asked for help before are relying on the organization for assistance.
The organization helped a person who used to own a car dealership and a couple who had a six-fi gure income until their business went under, Whitlow said.
All of the cases are touching, but some stand out, Whitlow said, like the single mother of several small children in the Rogers School District.
The woman received an unusually large electric bill and was about to have her power shut o◊. The Salvation Army stepped in to help pay the bill.
The organization also helps elderly people with meager incomes. They often don’t qualify for much government assistance with food, she said.
“Without help, some of them just wouldn’t be able to make it,” she said.
The organization also provides help to people who lose their belongings in disasters such as fi res and floods, Whitlow said.
News, Pages 3 on 11/26/2009
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