Zach Firestone works as a bell ringer for The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign outside the Walmart on Dell Range Boulevard on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Cheyenne. The campaign had raised $72,000 as of Thursday, and has a goal of $160,000 to be raised by Dec. 24. Jacob Byk/Wyoming Tribune Eagle
CHEYENNE – Just a few weeks into its annual Red Kettle bell ringing campaign, donations to The Salvation Army in Cheyenne are significantly lower this time last year, and the group is far from reaching its goal.
The faith-based organization has raised $72,000, down 8.4 percent from this time last year. Volunteers have until Dec. 24 to try to reach their goal of $160,000 to provide free lunch and maintain rental/utility assistance programs throughout the year.
The campaign, where volunteers ring bells asking shoppers for cash donations around town, has been held in Cheyenne for about 80 years. Organizers plan to expand into Laramie County for the first time this year to help increase donations.
“Our donations have been down for the last few years,” said Chad Lamb, corps officer and business administrator at the Cheyenne Corps and Community Center. “People carry less cash now, so one of our goals is to add a dip kettle to place at stores next year where shoppers can use their debit cards. In addition, some of the places we have had kettles at over the years have limited our time in front of their stores across the nation.”
“People don’t think their change matters,” said Mistie Lamb, with the Cheyenne Corps. “On average, we get between $300 and $400 in change. People’s pennies add up.”
The group also is making significant changes to its Angel Tree program this year. The campaign allows community members to buy holiday gifts for children in need by choosing tags on Christmas trees placed around town.
In the past, Angel Tree tags have gone to specific children, but, if a particular family has multiple children, there was no guarantee that every child would receive gifts.
This year, organizers are hosting what they call Toy and Joy. Tags represent children, and once gifts come in, they will be sorted according to age and put on display. Parents will then come in and choose from the available options in a particular age range.
The Lambs said this change was a personal one. As parents of four adopted and two biological children, they’ve seen firsthand how children respond to holiday disappointment.
“One Christmas, one of our adopted sons had a pile that was a little bit smaller than his brothers at first,” Chad Lamb said. “He just began to cry and said, ‘I don’t have as many presents because I’m adopted, right?’ We told him that’s not true and, when all the gifts were out, he had the same pile everyone else did. I never want to see a kid brokenhearted like that at Christmas.”
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