Concert to benefit Salvation Army
Published 10:31 pm Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Salvation Army will host a concert next week to start its kettle fundraising campaign on the right note.
Set for the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the event will feature a mime, solos, duets, praise dances, sign language interpretation, a bells choir and a children’s group.
The concert will help the Salvation Army cover an anticipated shortfall this year because it has four fewer locations to place its iconic red kettles and bell-ringers, and some other locations are delaying the start of the program until after Thanksgiving or even Dec. 1.
“Christmas is going to be a little bit scary this year because of the fewer locations we have,” Maj. Cal Clatterbuck of the Suffolk Salvation Army Corps said. “We’re having a whole lot more people come to us for help. We’re just trying to do things to raise money to meet the Christmas need.”
The concert will be held Nov. 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church, 3488 Godwin Blvd. Admission will be a donation placed in one of the kettles on site.
“There is a great need in our community,” said Patrica Goodman, lead social worker at the Suffolk Salvation Army. “In order for us to meet those needs, you need finances.”
The concert will occur after the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday shopping rush, so it’s just the right thing to help people relax, Clatterbuck said.
“It’s a good night for folks to come out and hear local talent,” he said.
Clatterbuck said the organization also is in need of volunteer bell-ringers. The fewer people that have to be paid to ring the bells, the more proceeds can be used for the organization’s work.
“That takes a big chunk out of it,” he said. “We need anybody that can help.”
The organization provides a variety of assistance with the money, including toys and meals for the holidays, counseling, homeless assistance, disaster response, youth services and more.
For more information on the concert or to volunteer as a bell-ringer, call 539-5201.