Donor pledges help to Naperville-area Salvation Army drive

An anonymous donor, who supported Salvation Army programs in the past, is promising to match all donations up to $5,000 at three red kettles in Naperville and Bolingbrook beginning Dec. 13, officials said Tuesday.

The kettles are at Casey’s Foods at 124 W Gartner Road in Naperville; Trader Joe’s at 44 W. Gartner Road in Naperville; and Jewel at 1200 W. Boughton Road in Bolingbrook.

Salvation Army officials said the same donor deposited $20,000 in Naperville kettles last year and sponsored a $5,000 match at the Casey’s Foods kettle.

Officials say the Salvation Army has raised more than $3.3 million in donations so far this year, or roughly 26 percent of its $13 million goal. Donations are down roughly 8 percent from a year ago, due at least in part to the lateness of Thanksgiving.

Word of the anonymous donor comes just a day after the Salvation Army reported someone dropped a gold coin valued at roughly $1,300 into a kettle on Friday outside Casey’s Foods.