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Salvation Army collects $22K through Red Kettle Campaign in Kewaunee County

Your loose change will add up to big help for your friends and neighbors in Kewaunee County. Through the Salvation Army of Kewaunee County’s Red Kettle Campaign, more than $22,900 was collected at sites in Algoma, Kewaunee, and Luxemburg. It was down from the over $25,800 collected in 2021. Despite the drop in donations, Matt Joski was still proud of the effort that mainly came from loose change and crumpled-up dollar bills. Even with some of the new technology available to drive up donations, Joski says some people just like the feeling of dropping money into the kettle. As a voucher writer, he is excited to see how the dollars will help residents in need in 2023.

Throughout the entire country, The Salvation Army serves more than 25 million people annually, including 2.3 million people during the holiday season. The national organization estimates that inflation has caused a 30 to 50 percent increase in requests for assistance compared to previous years. 

 

 

FROM MATT JOSKI

With all of the Christmas excitement behind us, I wanted to take just a moment to share the outcome of our 2022 season of giving. Just as in the past, this year’s Kewaunee County Kettle Campaign was a testimony to the generosity of our communities. Over all, we received $22,902.29in donations between November 23rd and December 24th. To put this in perspective, last year we received $25,824.16

 

Although we raised less than we did in last year’s campaign, it is still an impressive total and is yet another example of the giving spirit that our community continues to show forth.

 

Leading the giving this year was the Kewaunee sites with a total of $9,125.47 followed by Luxemburg at $6,434.80 and Algoma at $6,336.56. These donations are a total of both what was received in the kettles as well as $1,005.46 donation checks received throughout 2022. A relatively new addition to our campaign has been the counter top kettles at area businesses. Each year they tend to draw a bit more attention as well as donations. Thank you to the businesses that hosted those as well.

 

These are some impressive numbers when you consider that most of these donations are mostly small amounts as people come and go from the Kettle sites. We would like to thank the businesses who allow us to place these kettles along with the bell ringing volunteers in their entrances. We would also like to thank the many volunteers who took time from their lives to ring bells and encourage giving. There is no way we would have been as successful in our fund raising had the bell ringers not been at the sites as often as they were. I am always encouraged by the many new faces that volunteer each year and look forward to more new faces next season.

 

I would like to thank Jake Blazkovec and John Ortlieb for all of their efforts in the Algoma area. I would also like to thank Annette Wuest for her coordination at the Luxemburg sites, as well as my dear Mother, Pat Joski for her handcrafted sign-up boards at the Kewaunee Site. In addition to the volunteers of all ages, young and old, A special shout out to all of our Kewaunee County youth for showing us that there is no minimum age for volunteerism, as we had students, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Cub Scouts and student/ staff members of various organizations and schools giving of themselves and their time.

 

Big thanks also to all of the Nicolet Bank staff, especially Lynn LaCrosse, for their processing of all of the transactions and patiently sorting the contents of the Kettles. Many hours were spent flattening out all of the rolled up, crunched up and otherwise jammed packed currency from the kettles that are brought in.

 

It is important to note that these funds stay here in Kewaunee County to help those around us who find themselves in short term need. These needs could be due to a sudden loss of employment, or an unexpected medical bill. In these instances, the resources are sent directly to the vendor so that there is no doubt that the money is going towards its intended purpose.

 

I have the unique privilege of being the Voucher Writer for the Salvation Army here in Kewaunee County which allows me to meet with and assist our neighbors throughout the year for needs such as Utilities, Rent, Lodging, Food, Clothing, and Fuel. While I may be the person filling out the voucher for them, I know that I am merely a representative of our community and all of its amazing generosity. I am grateful for this role I play in changing people’s lives for the better, and I would encourage anyone who has an interest to please join our county unit of the Salvation Army. We meet on a quarterly basis and are always looking for fresh insight and perspective on how we can better serve our community. Please give me a call if you are interested.

    

 

        

        

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