New commanding officers gearing up for first Christmas season with Elgin Salvation Army

It’s the most wonderful and busiest time of year for the Salvation Army Elgin Corps as it prepares to help approximately 500 families in need during the holidays while focusing on its biggest fundraiser, with the annual Red Kettle campaign.

And the organization is doing it with new commanding officers.

Lts. Scott and Allison Rodriguez arrived in Elgin about five months ago after graduating from The Salvation Army College for Officer Training.

“We’ve really enjoyed getting to know the community, connecting with people and learning what the needs are and how we can be facilitators to help,” Allison Rodriguez said.

The Elgin Corps — which also serves Carpentersville, East and West Dundee, South Elgin and Streamwood — is collecting toys for 1,200 children through its Angel Tree program.

“We really need the community’s support because a lot of these kids won’t have anything for Christmas otherwise,” Allison Rodriguez said.

The Salvation Army has an Angel Tree inside the Walmart store at 1100 S. Randall Road in Elgin. Shoppers can pull tags from the tree, purchase items, and leave them at the store to be picked up.

There are other Angel Trees in the lobbies of multiple local businesses. Meanwhile, anyone who wants to donate new, unwrapped gifts can drop them off at the Elgin Corps community center at 316 Douglas Ave. People can also order gifts from Amazon or other online retailers and have them shipped straight to the community center.

As the Salvation Army works to make Christmas merry for local families, it’s already a couple of weeks into its annual Red Kettle campaign.

Money raised from the iconic red kettles funds about 70% of the division’s programs and services.

“Every year, as Christmas goes, so goes the Salvation Army,” said Rick Reigner, development director for the Salvation Army Elgin Corps. “If we have a bad (fundraising) year, we have to drastically reduce the number of people we serve.”

Services include emergency rent and utility assistance, a home goods pantry, food assistance, and myriad programs for kids and senior citizens.

This year’s fundraising goal is $235,000.

Scott Rodriguez said that when people give to the Salvation Army, they’re really just giving back to their own community. All the money raised through their annual kettle campaigns around the country stays in the communities where it was collected.

“The Salvation Army is what it is because of the people who give,” he said. “The highlight should be on the community. It’s really people helping each other, and we’re just the middleman.”

The couple said they “both grew up in the Army,” but Allison has a special connection to Elgin — her grandfather was an officer there from 1974 to 1978.

“To be a part of this, to get to bear witness to these stories about how the Army has helped people, how the community has supported one another through the Army in Elgin for 130 years, is a real privilege,” she said.

To volunteer, go to salvationarmyusa.org/usa-central-territory/bell-ringing/.

There’s also an online kettle at elginredkettle.org where people can make donations that go directly to the Elgin Corps.