The economy is a challenge for even those of us with the most secure of jobs. In response, my extended family had modified our family gift exchange this year to include a donation to the Salvation Army (and a significantly reduced dollar amount for the exchange of gifts).
I am the coordinator for the event, so I went on line to see if there was a way to make the Salvation Army donation easy for everyone. They have a great application that allows you to set up your own 'red kettle' to collect money. I was able to set one up for my family and give it a name. I was able to give it a unique website address which I can give each family and each family can make their donation directly. I can even send invitations to donate straight from the Salvation Army website.
When we first talked about doing this type of donation, I thought each family could mail me a check and I would collect all of the checks and mail in our donation--how much easier is this?
If you want to donate to my family kettle, the address is:
http://give.salvationarmyusa.org/goto/kirbyholiday
I hope that your family might consider using this application to set up your own donation 'red kettle.' It is a way that your family can do something good for the community during these challenging times (and don't forget the tax benefits of charitable giving).
You can set up your own 'red kettle' at:
Thanks Salvation Army for this creative application. You have made it easier for my family to donate this year!
If anyone is interested in donating...I will have the link to our 'red kettle' on my home page.
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A great idea -- I've been doing a version of this for the past three years, and this year there will be no gifting, except to Salvation Army and related charities, and the people who had the initial letters from me, about passing along to the community needy, are doing this themselves, now.