Charlotte Observer readers helped kids and adults during the holidays. Here’s how.
Charlotte Observer readers donated more than $164,000 to the paper’s Empty Stocking Fund this holiday season to help local families in need, Salvation Army officials said.
The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte’s Angel Tree program matches children in need with anonymous donors who buy them presents for Christmas, and provides senior citizens with gifts. In cases where donors didn’t step up, Charlotte Observer readers covered the expense by giving to the Empty Stocking Fund.
The Observer has sponsored the Empty Stocking Fund since about 1920.
Readers gave $164,526 to the Empty Stocking Fund this holiday season, down from the previous two years but more than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Salvation Army figures show.
Readers donated $149,258 in 2019, $349,119 in 2020 and $228,572 in 2021.
Rising costs ‘pinch’ donors
This season’s giving was down about 28% from last year and 26% off the average annual total of $222,868 over the last four years, said Brent Rinehart, director of communications for the Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte.
Salvation Army officials, however, view 2020 as more of an outlier year when people gave more because of the COVID pandemic, he said.
“If you remove the outlier year, the average for the other three years is $180,785,” Rinehart said in an email on Wednesday. “So this year’s total is only 9% off that average.”
It’s impossible to determine the reasons for a smaller amount of donations in a given year, Rinehart said, but the economy likely played a role.
“It can be assumed that many of our donors have felt the pinch of rising costs this year,” he said.
Angel Tree program helped thousands of kids
The Angel Tree program helped 2,607 families in Mecklenburg and Union counties this holiday season, including 6,662 children, Salvation Army officials said.
The program also gave gift cards to 1,715 seniors and 436 people with disabilities, according to The Salvation Army.
Money from the 2021 Empty Stocking Fund campaign bought 9,270 toys and 1,716 gift cards for seniors in the Silver Bells program, Rinehart said. Another 436 gift cards were given to foster children and children and adults with disabilities.
This year, 570 people gave to the Empty Stocking Fund campaign, with an average of $289 per donor, Rinehart said. That average surpassed the previous year, he said.
Grateful for support from Atrium Health and others
This year, 1,138 volunteers helped with the program, totaling 3,600 hours, Salvation Army figures show.
“It takes many individuals and corporations working together to serve this many families,” Rinehart said.
For more than 20 years, Atrium Health and its employees have partnered with The Salvation Army during the holidays, Rinehart said. They adopt “angels” through the Angel Tree program, raise donations and volunteer their time.
This year, Atrium Health bought, assembled and distributed nutrition boxes for each family in the program. The boxes contained a total of about 54,000 pounds of non-perishable food, including whole wheat pasta and peanut butter, Rinehart said.
Atrium Health also teamed up with Amazon, which donated hygiene kits that contained a hairbrush, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, baby wipes and adjustable baby swaddles, he said.
The Salvation Army feels “very fortunate and blessed to receive all the support we do during the holidays,” Rinehart said. “We can’t provide a program of this magnitude for families in need without the community coming together.
“Every dollar that is given, every toy that is donated, every hour that is spent volunteering makes a huge impact,” he said.
How to Give
To donate online, visit EmptyStockingFundCLT.org.
To donate by mail, send checks to: The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, P.O. Box 31128, Charlotte, NC 28231. Make checks payable to The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte and write “Empty Stocking Fund” in the memo line.
Questions concerning your donation? Call 704-716-2769.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 11:37 AM.