Pay the kettle with a credit card

Every year, that jingle seems to arrive sooner than we can imagine and this year it has. A six day jumpstart may be just the thing to meet a $9-million goal.

"The Salvation Army bell is the sound of hope and healing," said Maj. Darryl Leedom of the Salvation Army. "The need we are seeing is 31% more demand than in prior years.

To help meet that demand, the Salvation Army has entered the digital world.
At a small number of locations across the metro, bell ringers will accept credit card donations, effectively getting rid of that old excuse.

"No excuses, for those who say I don't have any money," said Leedom. "We have four of these units so we'll try them at various locations."

The credit card machines will move around depending on how much is being donated.

But the machines could create a new excuse if the weather doesn't cooperate.

The credit card machines haven't seen sleet, snow and below zero, for a non-profit based on hope, they hope they'll ride out a Minnesota winter.

A check for $10,000 kicked off Thursday's donations.
Cub Foods will also match every dollar donated until 8:00pm Thursday night.

"The dollars that are raised here in the Twin Cities stay here in the Twin Cities, so it's local people responding to local need," Leedom said.

Cliché or not that need, now greater than ever.

The Twin Cities Salvation Army's 2009 Christmas campaign goal is $8.7 million, about $3 million of which will be raised in red kettles.

The annual budget of the Twin Cities Salvation Army is $29 million, with public contributions accounting for $17 million.

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