As December came to a close, the Salvation Army in Butler County was significantly short of its Red Kettle campaign fundraising goal.

The donation season, which featured a record-cold Christmas Eve and soaring inflation, left the organization $15,000 shy of its $90,000 goal. A severe winter storm prevented outdoor donations on Dec. 23 and 24, which are the two biggest dates for donations.

We reported the disappointing news Dec. 28, saying the Salvation Army was then looking for mail-in donations to help reach the goal.

And then, we saw Butler County do what it does best: Show up for one another.

The Salvation Army saw a slew of donations and went from being $15,000, or roughly 17%, shy of its goal to being only 8% to 10% short.

The envelopes that came in during December brought in another 7% to 9%. That’s incredible. We were truly impressed by how people showed up for the organization.

Major Darlene Means of the Salvation Army’s Butler Corps told the Butler Eagle on Tuesday that she didn’t have the exact dollar amount, but she was thrilled to share that the organization was much closer to the goal than it was a month prior.

Money collected in those shiny red kettles during the holiday season goes toward feeding programs, rental assistance, utility assistance, spiritual programs, after-school youth empowerment programs and other charitable work.

These are programs that make a difference in the lives of so many people. We are disappointed to see the Salvation Army still came up short, but proud of how our community showed up to help push closer to that goal.

— TL