Renton Kettle Donations Down Nearly 50 Percent

Salvation Army Kettle donations are down approximately 50 percent this year, and volunteers only have five more days to make up the nearly $90,000 difference.

“If everyone in the City of Renton were to put $1 in, we’d have our goal,” said Renton Salvation Army Captain Chris Aird. Volunteers will be outside of Fred Meyer and Renton Safeway stores through Saturday.

“I don’t know if it is the economy,” he said. “but I do know that some of our donors have become recipients of our assistance programs.”

Donations deposited in the kettles support the .

“I’m optimistic, but I need to be realistic,” Aird said. He’s already had to lay off one employee and reduce the hours of another due to budget constraints. “We’ve lost other sources of income, too, just like everybody else.”

If donations don’t increase, programs will have to be cut from the budget, he said.

Donating to a Salvation Army kettle is more convenient than ever with the help of mobile devices and the Internet. Text message the word GIVE to 85944 to donate a cash donation to the Salvation Army, in the Text-to-give program, or set up an electronic kettle by visiting onlineredkettles.org.

posted an online kettle to his Facebook page last year.