Hundreds of Decatur families receiving toys from The Salvation Army

“They all looked around; they’d never seen one before so we had to share it around and let everybody look at it”, Svenson said. “I find a lot of seniors are caring for the children and great grandchildren, and they don’t ask much for themselves, but they need a little bit of help”.

Maj. Tim Nauta, commander of the Jamestown Salvation Army, said while the donation news is better than it was a week ago, when donations were down 30 percent as compared to past year, donations are still down this week by 22.5 percent.

“We are one of the few organizations that hasn’t raised its fundraising goal in a market where prices are going up”. The donor, who asked to remain anonymous, called the Roseville Salvation Army unit the following day to confirm the donation.

Over the weekend, the Salvation Army says 300 angels were not returned, meaning 300 kids would not have received gifts.

Stanley has asked people to donate all the money that would have gone towards buying her gifts, according to the Salvation Army.

The annual Red Kettle Campaign, which begins every year in early November, is the organization’s biggest fundraiser.

“I wish that all of Londoners could experience the relief on parents’ faces when they receive their Christmas Hamper”, said spokesperson Perron Goodyear last week. “We need to hit $71,000 by Christmas Eve”.

Rosemary Robbins, president of the Kiwanis Club, said the band playing holiday music helped out by putting “shoppers in a more charitable mood”.

While the Salvation Army set up red kettles at 38 locations across Shreveport-Bossier this year to ensure those they help won’t come out empty handed, there are other ways to give support.

“We are hoping and praying those kettles will be filled during the last 8 days of the season”.