Salvation Army NJ launches 100-day Christmas countdown

🎁 The Salvation Army NJ is appealing for early giving of toys and food

🎁 It has launched its 100-day countdown to Christmas

🎁 Volunteers are desperately needed during the holidays

With the holidays fast approaching and rising inflation taking a huge chunk out of people’s incomes, The Salvation Army NJ has started its 100-day countdown to Christmas appeal.

If people who are inclined to help as New Jersey communities have so generously done so in the past, this is an early plea to help put things in place now to help The Salvation Army struggling families this holiday season, said Salvation Army NJ Major Brett DeMichael.

“We want to make sure we’re on people’s radars for charitable giving this year and to get to that as early as possible so that at least people are aware of what we’re doing and how they can help us help others,” DeMichael said.

Every year at Christmastime is the Salvation Army’s iconic Red Kettle campaign. Bell ringers are needed at various locations throughout the state to ring bells and collect monetary donations.

This program, along with regular day-to-day operations and programming helps The Salvation Army prevent homelessness and hunger and provides music lessons to children.

Another way to help is by donating toys to the organization’s Angel Tree program. This allows struggling families to put toys under the tree for their children on Christmas morning.

But even before Christmas, so many of The Salvation Army NJ locations are helpful with Thanksgiving assistance for food, whether it be an in-person meal or a food basket for those in need, DeMichael said.

There is a huge need for volunteers to help distribute toys, ring bells at the iconic red kettles, help out at local events, and serve holiday meals.

DeMichael said the best way to volunteer is to visit The Salvation Army’s website. Put in a zip code and you’ll find a Salvation Army near you. The organization serves in every zip code in New Jersey, so wherever you live, The Salvation Army is there to serve your neighbors, or you, if you need the help, he added.

While volunteers are needed all year long, the need for them ramps up during the busy holiday season to help with all the fundraising events.

“The Salvation Army is feeding millions of meals throughout the year, we’re distributing 100,000 toys throughout the state, so just to rely on the people who are employed by The Salvation Army or even those few people who say they want to volunteer, it’s just never quite enough. So, other people stepping forward saying they want to help, there is always something that we can ask you to do that will be helpful,” DeMichael said.

He also encouraged companies and businesses throughout New Jersey to encourage their employees to get into the charitable mood this holiday season.

Companies often host toy drives. Others adopt families at Christmastime to make the gift-giving more personal. Instead of buying generic gifts, they can buy for a mom, dad, and their three children of specific ages personal presents, DeMichael explained.

Businesses can organize a bell-ringing schedule for Red Kettle locations. Divide a day in 12 hours and you find six people who can do two-hour shifts, the day is covered.

“That’s a wonderful benefit from a fundraising and resource-raising perspective from The Salvation Army. There are all kinds of ways for groups and organizations and companies to help, and it’s really just limited by their imagination and availability,” DeMichael said.

The Salvation Army NJ is so grateful to its New Jersey communities for their charitable contributions. Even in hard, economic struggles and financial strains, DeMichael said he’s found that charitable giving is alive and well in the state.

People love to step up and offer help and New Jersey is such a wonderful place to live because of that, he said.

“We can work together to do the most good in our communities, and we’re grateful in advance for the support that we know we’ll receive from our neighbors,” DeMichael said.

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