CEDAR RAPIDS — The Salvation Army is asking for help for its Christmas Red Kettle Campaign this year as it faces an “unprecedented need” for donations.
The annual campaign, now in its 130th year, is struggling to meet its fundraising targets, according to a Wednesday news release from the Cedar Rapids chapter.
With just over a week remaining in this year’s campaign, donations in Linn County are down over $50,000 compared to last year.
The campaign launched two months early this year, in mid-September, and has raised $507,000. However, the organization needs to raise an additional $210,000 to reach its $711,000 goal.
The organization is facing a “perfect storm” this year as it tries to deal with a “massive spike in demand for services coupled with damage to its own building from the derecho and a precipitous decline in donations,” the news release said.