Tomorrow the Salvation Army has scheduled a fund drive – Drop Your Change and Change a Life – at the Kopp Drug Store parking lot in Tyrone from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also, there will be a bake sale scheduled for the same time at the Salvation Army in downtown Tyrone.
“The purpose of the drive is because the Salvation Army assists people all year round with various emergency needs,” said Major Karen Garrett of the Salvation Army. “January and February we had a lot of people calling us, far more than normal, for propane and fuel oil because the temperatures got very low, and people couldn’t handle the high prices and the extra fuel that they were using.”
The Salvation Army needs to make up money after the harsh winter took its tool on the organization’s finances. Over the past couple of years, the organization has not been able to meet its budget because of the loss of businesses and jobs in Tyrone, which has trickled down to a loss of money from fundraisers. At Christmas time, the organization was down to only two fund raising kettles which raised $7,000. This was nearly $8,000 short of what was needed.
To make matters worse, the United Way, which is a large funder of the Salvation Army, did not meet its goal for the year. Therefore, the United Way had to cut funds given to the Salvation Army.
“At Christmas time, the Salvation Army is supposed to raise almost 25 percent of its budget, and we haven’t come anywhere near that in the last few years. This year is the leanest that we’ve ever been,” said Major Garrett. “United Way has cut everybody in their organization because of not making their goal. They had to cut us $6,000. That hurt a lot.”
Because of the lack of funds, the Salvation Army is being forced to hold more fundraisers throughout the year. That is the purpose of the “Drop Your Change and Change a Life” campaign. The goal is to at least fill up the kettle with change and donations which will add up to a couple hundred dollars.
“A lot of folks would like to help, and we appreciate that. They just need to be given an opportunity,” said Garrett. “It’s a very large kettle, so it’s going to take a great deal of change to fill it up.”
A tent will be set up in the parking lot of Kopp Drug. Along with Major Garrett, other community members will be helping with the fund drive including: Handi the Clown, retired Pastor Norman Huff, Pastor Joan Smith, Pastor Bob Smith and Salvation Army member Bob Maser.
The bake sale at the Tyrone Salvation Army is also scheduled for this Saturday. Free coffee will be available. Types of baked goods will include: apple pie, peach pie, cheesecake, no bake cookies, brownies, thimble cookies, Clark Bar cookies and more.
For more information on the Salvation Army, contact Major Karen Garrett at 684 – 0560.
