Special to the Daily)
It has been a challenging time for all nonprofits this year. Due to COVID-19, Salvation Army Vail hasn’t been able to host its usual fundraisers except for the Red Kettle campaign, which typically happens between mid-November and Christmas. Even so, the Red Kettle campaign is only a small portion of the nonprofit’s annual budget and less people came out to ring the bell and less people were in the grocery stores this year. But, Salvation Army Vail had a brighter Christmas season than expected due to the support of some generous donors.
“Since COVID-19 hit, Salvation Army Vail has been inundated with requests for help with food, rent, utilities, prescription assistance and more,” said Anne Barnett, who is the volunteer board chair for Salvation Army Vail. “Requests for food are up 40%. We normally give out about 400 boxes of food each month but it’s been closer to 600. That represents about 3,000 people a month, just for food assistance.”