Join the Fight for Good on Giving Tuesday

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the sixth annual Giving Tuesday, a day promoting global giving fueled by social media, The Salvation Army has issued a call for action. As one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the country, with a presence in every ZIP code and a structure akin to the military, The Salvation Army is asking supporters to join the "Fight for Good," the official theme of the 2017 Red Kettle Campaign.

"Giving Tuesday is an exciting effort to focus on making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate," said Lt. Col. Ron Busroe, national community relations and development secretary for The Salvation Army. "We're drawing attention to the true meaning of the holidays and inviting people to join a proud tradition of giving this charitable season."

For part of its own Giving Tuesday celebrations, The Salvation Army will rally the troops to join the Fight for Good and donate to the Red Kettle Campaign. Already, a variety of notable citizen soldiers have started their own fundraisers and are encouraging fans to help them reach their goals.

• Trick-shot artist and YouTube phenomenon Brodie Smith is hosting a fundraiser to fight for hunger relief and has teamed up with professional skateboarder Tony Hawk to raise awareness of the need for donations this holiday with a Fight for Good skateboarding trick shots video.
• Olympic hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones is fighting to keep families safe and warm this Christmas with a fundraiser dedicated to sheltering the homeless. Lolo and her family benefited from The Salvation Army's shelter programs, and she will make a special appearance on the Steve Harvey TV show to talk about what it means to help others during the holidays.
• Author and social-good ambassador Chris Strub, the first person to live-stream from all 50 states, is midway through his own 25-state #FightForGoodTour, where he is experiencing firsthand the many faces and challenges of poverty in the United States. Along the tour, Chris is sharing updates via his social media platforms (@ChrisStrub), posting recaps on his YouTube page, and hoping to raise $25,000 to meet the greatest needs of those living in poverty.

During the holiday season, over 3 million families rely on The Salvation Army to provide them with a warm meal or toys for their children on Christmas Day. Donating to the red kettles also allows the Army to serve nearly 25 million people a year by providing over 10 million nights of shelter and 56 million meals a year, along with substance abuse recovery programs, after-school programs, and emergency shelter for children and families in need.

Join the Fight for Good 

Joining the Fight for Good takes four easy steps:

1. Visit redkettlereason.org.
2. Click "Join the Fight" or scroll to the bottom of the page and join one of our notable citizen soldiers' fundraisers.
3. Specify the community, fundraising goal and designated cause to support, or simply make a general donation to The Salvation Army.
4. Encourage friends and family to donate and start their own fundraising pages.

A small donation can go a long way. Nationally, on average:

• If you factor an additional $25 into your Christmas budget to donate to The Salvation Army, you can help provide Christmas gifts for a child in need.
• If you stopped buying coffee once a week for a year, you could help The Salvation Army provide nearly 40 meals for people in need.
• Nearly one-third of Americans plan to spend $100 or more on holiday decorations. If all those people donated that money to The Salvation Army, they could provide over 350 million nights of shelter for those in need of a safe, warm place to sleep.

To give back on this instrumental day, donors can contribute to the Red Kettle Campaign at one of the thousands of red kettles set up at storefronts nationwide. Or they can join the Fight for Good and give back online at RedKettleReason.org or through the Army's text-to-give program ? by texting "KETTLES" to 51555, they can give an amount of their choice to the Red Kettle Campaign. Donors can also volunteer their time, from ringing a bell to sorting toys to serving food. Information about these opportunities is available at SalvationArmyUSA.org.

This holiday season marks the 127th Red Kettle Campaign since the program's humble beginnings in San Francisco in 1891. The Red Kettle Campaign has grown into one of the most recognizable and important charitable campaigns in the United States, providing toys for kids, coats for the homeless and food for the hungry, as well as countless social service programs year-round.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need without discrimination for more than 135 years in the U.S. Nearly 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster survivors, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. For every dollar donated to The Salvation Army, 82 cents is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). For more information, go to SalvationArmyUSA.org or follow on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS.

SOURCE The Salvation Army