Salvation Army hopes for generosity, volunteers

As they ring bells by those familiar red kettles from now until Christmas Eve, members of the Salvation Army are concerned about how the economy might affect their annual holiday fundraising campaign.Nancy Wellbrock, the development director of the Salvation Army New Jersey division, said current economic conditions and worries about jobs may have an influence on the amount of money people donate this year.”There’s no question about it. These are difficult times that everybody is facing,” she said Tuesday. “So we are concerned, and we are looking for the best and trying to get the word out as to how important support of this kettle program is for all of our local facilities.”Wellbrock said it’s difficult to get volunteers to man those kettles for four-hour shifts.  “We are looking for volunteers to man kettles for four hours shifts if they want to stand one day or if they are willing to stand multiple times at multiple locations,” she said. “People are busy these days. People need to do whatever they need to do for their own personal lives. So it is always a challenge.”The statewide fundraising goal this year is $1.9 million. The money will support holiday food and toy distributions as well as the year-round services the Salvation Army provides.