Elgin Salvation Army struggling to get enough gifts, volunteers for kids in need
The Salvation Army hopes a flurry of last-minute donations can help make it a merry Christmas for Elgin-area families in need.
A Saturday deadline for its annual Hope for the Holidays toy giveaway is quickly approaching. But the Elgin Corps is critically low on both toys and volunteers, Capt. Linnea Forney said.
"For some of these kids, these toys are all they would be getting for Christmas," Forney said. "If we don't have them, they'll get nothing. That would be heartbreaking."
The Salvation Army partnered last year with the Community Crisis Center to provide gifts for kids from 860 area families. The crisis center isn't able to participate this year, and the number of families signed up has swelled to 966, with more on the waiting list. More than 2,100 kids are registered to receive toys.
The list is so long that the group has already decided that it won't be able to provide gifts for teens this year.
"I just don't know if we're going to be able to fill all our families' wishes," Forney said.
While more of everything is needed, the most significant demand is for toys for 9- to 12-year-olds. Squishmallows, Legos, L.O.L. dolls and STEM kits are among the most popular requests.
"We'll give what we get," Forney said.
Donations must arrive by Saturday to get everything wrapped and organized for distribution on Dec. 19 and 20.
Volunteers also are needed between now and Saturday to pack hundreds of bags with the toys they do have. Anyone interested in giving a couple of hours of their time can email Forney at linnea.forney@usc.salvationarmy.org. The Elgin community center is at 316 Douglas Ave.
In addition, the Salvation Army is extremely short on bell ringers for 52 kettles locations in Elgin, South Elgin, West Dundee, East Dundee, Carpentersville and Schaumburg.
"We've had so many kettles that have been empty because we don't have bell ringers, and people don't donate to unstaffed kettles," Resource Development Director Rick Reigner said.
He said the group is down to about half the number of volunteer bellringers from last year and hasn't been able to hire enough people to make up the difference. Interested volunteers can sign up to ring at registertoring.com.
The lack of bellringers has put the Elgin Corps well off the pace of its $250,000 goal with less than two weeks remaining. The Christmas fundraising campaign brings in 70% of the donations that the division uses to pay for programs and services throughout the year.
"As Christmas goes, so goes the Salvation Army," Reigner said. "This is it."
Visit elginredkettle.org to donate online to the kettle campaign.