Local Salvation Army donations help locally

Help House is the designated organization to distribute Salvation Army funds for emergency assistance of utilities and gas vouchers in the county. Eighty percent of that raised in Osage County comes back to us to be used for these needs.

There will be Salvation Army counter kettles placed in businesses in the different communities. Bell ringers will be at two grocery stores, one in Carbondale at Mid-Town Market, and in Osage City at Jerry’s Thriftway, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays, beginning Nov. 27, and ending on the Saturday before Christmas, Dec 18.

Any person, group or organization that would like to volunteer for a one or two hour time slot (or take a full day), is asked to call Help House at 785-828-4888, and leave your name and number where you can be reached.

In years past one chain of stores allowed the counter kettles to be placed in each of their five stores in Osage County but three years ago declared they would no longer allow them. Those kettles provided more than $1,500 each year in collections from their stores alone. This reduced the total amount collected dramatically, which means much less is available in funds to be distributed monthly.

The Salvation Army takes the total we are able to raise, figures our 80 percent and then divides by 12 months and allows that for our monthly assistance budget.

As you can imagine with how families are struggling right now and going into winter, not having the funds to assist with electric, gas, propane, or wood for heating, or gas vouchers to get to job interviews or doctor appointments, the reduction in funds is a true hardship for many.

So when you see those red kettles, large or small, in Osage County, please share what you can. The Salvation Army envelopes that will be in the local newspaper will count towards our total – even if you write a check and mail it off, it will find its way back to our county. If you donate out of this county it stays there not here.

If you can help out by ringing those bells for an hour or two throughout the season, we need help there, too. If you would like to donate to the Help House utility fund directly, designate it as such and mail to Help House, PO Box 356, Lyndon KS 66451.

God bless and remember sharing and giving to others is the spirit of the season.

Thank you,
Help House

For more information, call Help House at 785-828-4888, see www.helphouse.online, or stop by at 131 W. 15th St., Lyndon, Kan.

Information thanks to Raylene Quaney.