Our Terry Frank welcomes Major Kim Merchant from The Salvation Army of Jametown this week to talk about the start to their annual Red Kettle Campaign. The major says the campaign actually began the day after Veteran's Day -- Nov. 12 -- to get a head start on the effort to raise 115,000 for their food pantry, domestic violence, and other programs for the next year. Merchant adds that the Dunkirk Salvation Army has set a goal of 55,000. She adds they still need many volunteers in both cities so they don't have to hire people to man the kettles, which she says cuts into the amount of money they can raise. As for the food pantry... she says says they had a big surge in the number of people needing their help during the recent federal government shut-down. Merchant says they usually start holding up on distributing non-perishable food items in October so they have enough during the holidays. However... they needed much more during the shut-down. They usually have about 300 people a month they need to help... but, that number grew to over 500. We also talk about the Salvation Army's annual "Angel Tree" program to provide gifts for children from needy families. For more information about the Red Kettle Campaign, or to volunteer, call them at (716) 664-4108.
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