The Salvation Army of the Fox Valley area continues Christmas campaign
FOX VALLEY, IL (December 24, 2015) - As The Salvation Army's familiar red kettle campaign comes to a close and the last bell is rung for the season on Dec. 24, but the Christmas campaign continues for local units serving the Fox Valley area.
During four months of the year, starting Oct. 1 through Jan. 31, The Salvation Army's Christmas fundraising campaign encompasses a myriad ways for donors to financially support The Salvation Army in the Fox Valley area.
The red kettle campaign is just one of the more visual ways of giving back, but contributions also include direct mail appeal, Internet donations, online red kettle, newspaper slips, stock donations, IRA rollover giving, major or leadership gifts, or simply mailing or dropping off a financial donation to the local Salvation Army office. Donations are tax-deductible and a receipt is provided for each donation for tax purposes.
For end-of-year giving, donors are encouraged to give by Dec. 31 even though the Christmas campaign for The Salvation Army runs through Jan. 31.
Planned giving gift ideas are also available and have a lasting effect for donors and the organization.
How donations are used
The Salvation Army of the Fox Valley has four local units that provide service to those in need throughout Kane, Kendall and McHenry counties. The Salvation Army has service centers located in the communities of Aurora, Elgin, St. Charles Tri-Cities, and McHenry County (Crystal Lake) areas.
The money donated to the local units is used to provide food to families in need, toiletry items, rental/utility assistance, case management, after school programs for children, feeding sites for seniors, disasters services to first responders and victims, as well as counseling and rehabilitation for those fighting addictions.
This past Christmas season, more than 3,000 families were provided assistance with food and more than 7,500 children with toys in the Fox Valley area due to the generosity of donors and supporters of The Salvation Army.
For each local unit, more than 50 to 70 percent of The Salvation Army Fox Valley area yearly budgets are raised during the four months of the Christmas campaign including the red kettles. Money raised locally stays in the community to support the program and services each Salvation Army unit provides. According to The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division 2014 annual report, "88 cents of every dollar goes to direct services" (www.salarmychicago.org).
For more information on how you can give to The Salvation Army in your community, call Beverly Peterson, Fox Valley Area Director of Development at (815) 222-1773 or email Beverly_peterson@usc.salvationarmy.org.
About The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division and Fox Valley Corps
In 2015, The Salvation Army is celebrating its 150th worldwide anniversary and 130 years of service in Chicago and the Fox Valley area. As one of the largest direct providers of social services in the state of Illinois, The Salvation Army operates more than 20 corps community centers in the Metropolitan division, as well as other facilities in neighborhoods across the greater Chicago area and surrounding counties including the Fox Valley area, offering after-school programs, recreational activities and music education, as well as disaster relief, shelter, meals, child care, senior services and more.