Salvation Army’s Red Kettles campaign struggling to meet goal in Hawai’i

For the 2022 Christmas season, The Salvation Army’s iconic Christmas Red Kettle Campaign, now in its 131st year, is struggling to meet its fundraising goal in Hawai’i.

With just five bell-ringing days left before Christmas, donations in Hawaii are currently tracking at 67% of a $750,000 goal.

Donations to Red Kettles stay in the local communities where they are donated. Bell ringers will be staffing the Red Kettles through Christmas Eve. 

The Salvation Army, facing a spike in demand for services because of the combination of rising costs and lingering pandemic-related poverty, increased their campaign goal for Red Kettles by approximately $100,000 over the $650,000 raised in the 2021 holiday season.

Meeting increased needs also becomes more of a challenge every year at Red Kettles due to consumers carrying less cash, the closure of many brick-and-mortar retail stores where the Army would traditionally set up kettles and more online shopping — which means less foot traffic in shopping areas. This year, there also is the effect of high inflation. 

“Although I’m concerned that early donations have been a bit slow, I remain hopeful we can still make our fundraising goal this year,” said Major Phil Lum, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands. “Hawai’i has a history of supporting The Salvation Army’s efforts to help our most vulnerable neighbors every year.

“Even as we face increased needs, I believe our community will rally around us again this year. We’d also like to extend our Aloha to everyone for their generosity and kindness during the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!”  

The Salvation Army has made it easier and safer than ever to support its work at kettles or online. People can donate in several contactless ways, including: 

• Virtual Red Kettles: Support their local community’s Virtual Red Kettle at RedKettleHawaii.org 

• Online Donations: Make a donation online at Hawaii.SalvationArmy.org to help The Salvation Army Love Beyond Christmas. 

• Kettle Pay: It’s easy to give through Kettle Pay at Red Kettles around Hawai’i using Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal or Venmo. 

• Amazon Alexa: Use Amazon Alexa by saying, “Alexa, donate to The Salvation Army,” then specifying the amount. 

• US Mail: Send a check to a local Salvation Army corps. Visit Hawaii.SalvationArmy.org for a list of corps in the islands. 

This year, donors in Hawai’i have additional ways to support The Salvation Army including: 

• Share a Holiday Feast: Through Dec. 31, customers at all Foodland and Sack N Save stores in Hawai’i will be able to make donations at checkout through Foodland’s “Share a Holiday Feast” program to help those less fortunate in Hawai’i. Customers may donate cash, change or use Maika‘i points to help. Those donations will be turned into Foodland gift certificates and distributed by The Salvation Army to families in need on each island where the donations were received.

• Burger King Hawai’i: In partnership with Aloha United Way, customers may make cash donations at all Burger King Hawai’i restaurants through Dec. 31. The donations will go towards keiki Angel Tree gifts and provide support for those in need throughout the year.