With just four days to go, the Salvation Army is trying to make up lost ground in its Red Kettle campaign.
The annual fundraising effort is 15 percent behind last year's pace. In 2018 around this time, donations were down 13 percent from the previous year.
Jeremy Miller, director of community relations for the Salvation Army’s Empire State division, says the downward trend is probably due to people doing less shopping in stores and more shopping online, and a shorter-than-normal campaign this year because of a late Thanksgiving.
Miller does not connect the decrease in donations to the criticism that Salvation Army has received in recent years regarding its stance on LGBTQ issues.
"If somebody comes to one of our shelters,” he said, “we don't ask them what they believe, what they feel, how they identify, how they live their lives, nothing like that. We ask them what they need; we take care of that need. We love everyone, we serve everyone."
In the past, the organization's national leaders sought exemptions from federal and state anti-discrimination laws designed to protect LGBTQ communities. They have also opposed same-sex marriage.
Despite the fact that fewer dollars are being dropped into the red kettles, Miller says the Salvation Army will still find a way to continue its shelter, food, and utility assistance programs.
"What it may mean, though, would be next year,” he said. “Next year, we would be looking at a much steeper uphill climb to try and cover some of the ground that we would have lost this year."
The Red Kettle campaign runs through Dec. 24. This year’s fundraising goal for the upstate regions served by the Salvation Army is just under $4 million.