Monroe County Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign Kickoff Breakfast

(EAST STROUDSBURG, PA - NOVEMBER 2014) - While most of us associate the Christmas season with happy gatherings of family and friends, there are many whose holiday spirits are crushed by the harsh realities of simply making ends meet. This holiday season, the Monroe County Salvation Army will bring hope to hundreds local families who desperately need a helping hand. James Gingrich, commanding officer in East Stroudsburg said, "The Salvation Army will provide food, clothing and emergency assistance to people in real need in our community at Christmastime as we've done for 150 years in America. We need to raise $150,000 to accomplish this, and will launch our 2014 Campaign with our Red Kettle Kickoff Breakfast on November 5 at 8:00 am at Stroudsmoor Country Inn."

The Kickoff Breakfast is open to individuals, organizations and companies and will feature special guest speaker Coach Denny Douds, Head Coach of the East Stroudsburg University Football Program since 1966 with 230 career coaching wins ranking 11th in wins among all active college football coaches across all divisions of the NCAA and NAIA.

The Kettle Kickoff Breakfast format creates teams by table with table top Kettles on each. Guests make donations in the Kettle throughout breakfast and the table with the largest donation will be the winner of the new Red Kettle Trophy. Winners will be memorialized on the trophy which they will keep to display in their business or organization for a year. Tables for the one hour event are $160 for eight which includes a buffet breakfast, music, a brief program and the opportunity to give back to the community.
Gingrich continues, "Traditionally, The Salvation Army's bell ringers generate a large percent of the community-wide support needed for our feeding and sheltering programs with our Red Kettle Campaign. Last year we were heavily impacted with a decline in giving to the Kettles of over 20% lower from the prior year. We are adding the Red Kettle Kickoff Breakfast to raise awareness and reach out into the community to make up the shortfall of last year. While our monies have declined, our requests for assistance continue to be on the rise. We thank Coach Douds for being our inspirational speaker and his contribution to the success of the Kettle season this year."

The majority of the Salvation Army's local programs such as food baskets, hot meals, nights of shelter, rental assistance, clothing, Christmas toys for children, nursing home visitation, and disaster service response rely directly on community support and giving. Gingrich said, "We are more determined than ever to help our neighbors bridge the gap between their resources and the cost of acquiring basic human needs. For that, we are asking friends and neighbors for help in the form of cash donations to the Kettle campaign." He concludes, "We urge local residents to donate generously to the Kettles throughout the area starting with the area football games, at the Red Kettle Kickoff and other upcoming events throughout the region. Your donations will directly help those less fortunate in our community." For information about the Monroe County Salvation Army's programs, to request a Kettle to be placed at your business, reserve a table for your business for the Red Kettle Breakfast, to volunteer to be a ringer or to apply for a job as a paid ringer, please call the Salvation Army at (570) 421-3050.

 

About The Salvation Army in Monroe County
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar spent is used to carry out those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyeaststroudsburg.org
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Contact: Major James Gingrich - 570-421-3050 - 10/28/14 - james.gingrich@use.salvationarmy.org