Just over halfway through the Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign, the group is just under halfway to its $201,500 monetary goal. However, Salvation Army Lt. Gloria Pelayo said the organization is behind where it was last year at this time.

“I think we had a very bad beginning and that very bad beginning affected us a lot,” Pelayo said.

So far, through kettles, counter kettles, the thrift store “add a buck” donation option and mail donations, the Salvation Army has raised just under $77,000 total.

Pelayo said donations are down in all areas of giving related to the winter campaign. Typically, the kettle amount at this time is a little higher, she said, and the mail appeal is their number one funding source. Currently, it is relatively even with some other campaign elements.

“I feel anxiety sometimes, but I have to keep reminding myself that it will come,” Pelayo said.

However, Pelayo also said a large portion of the volunteer slots have been filled for the remaining two weeks of the campaign, which ends Dec. 23 this year.

“I think they’re like, ‘Oh, we don’t have much time left and it’s Christmas,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, and we wanted to ring the bells,’” office manager Kathy Belshan said.

Pelayo said some community churches have signed up to ring bells and kept track of their totals as part of a friendly competition.

“They asked for the numbers and they were very competitive,” she said.

The Salvation Army is also still planning to go through with another friendly competition: a Dec. 23 12-hour ring-off between members here and in Muscatine, Iowa.

“So it is Muscatine community against Albert Lea community to see which is the most giving one,” Pelayo said. “We want to prove that we’re the giving ones.”

When all the slots are filled, Pelayo said the Salvation Army is able to average around $1,000 a day in donations. When the slots are not filled, Pelayo or another staff member will ring bells. She has rung bells for five hours this week.

“We’re working very hard to make it work,” Pelayo said. “We need those pennies.”

Last year, this weekend showed the steepest growth in incoming donations, but Belshan said some of that was due to donation matching, which the Salvation Army has not been able to line up for this year so far.

Pelayo said the Salvation Army averages 20-25 families in an afternoon coming for assistance through the food pantry program, for which families come once a month. In addition, the group is distributing Christmas toys to over 300 families.

The Salvation Army has until Jan. 15 before it has to reevaluate its budget if the organization is unable to procure the funds from the campaign, Belshan said.

“That will be the hardest decision, is if we have to cut back, where we’ll do that,” Belshan said.

Nonetheless, Pelayo said Albert Lea is a giving community.

“I still have faith,” she said.

Campaign progress

“Add a buck” thrift store program: $783.84

Kettles: $23,379.78

White mail (dropped off, mailed in): $23,892.88

Mail appeal: $27,892.28

Total raised so far: $76,941.98

Goal: $201,500

Difference: $124,558.02