POTTSVILLE -- Seeing the Salvation Army's red kettles is part of the holiday season, but there is a chance that, in Pottsville, the campaign will fall short of its goal this year.
Dorkas Henry is a fixture every Christmas season. On this Christmas Eve, we found her with her Salvation Army red kettle at Boyer's Food Market in Pottsville. She says donations are down.
“You hear more and more people being laid off and that. I've had people come and say, ‘I'm sorry, I can't give you anything, I don't have a job.’”
The Salvation Army in Pottsville has many programs to help the less fortunate, including feeding and clothing those who are down on their luck. Some of the funding comes from Red Kettle donations. But officials say they're $90,000 goal this year is $13,000 short.
“If we don't make this money, we might have to cut services we provide or the number of people we help, and we want to help as many people as we can,” said Salvation Army Lt. Staci Ferreira.
Charles Stancavage heard about the money woes at the Pottsville Salvation army and stopped by to give a donation.
The economy in this area is rough. People do give but people aren't working and it’s a bad area here and they're trying, and people are trying to heat their homes, let alone give to charities,” Stancavage said.
The Red Kettle campaign continues online.
Salvation Army officials say when you go to that link, type in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.