Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warm weather, a late Thanksgiving and a dwindling membership in many service organizations have left nonprofits scrambling to find volunteers this holiday season.
'We've lost five or six big groups,' said Joanie Jones, the Salvation Army's Indianapolis kettle coordinator. 'Now, we're doing it the hard way - individual by individual in one- or two-hour shifts.'
In Lake County, the number of Salvation Army volunteers is down about 25 percent from last year, said Capt. Kjell Steinsland, the county's Salvation Army coordinator.
Kosciusko County is one of the few fortunate exceptions, Salvation Army Lt. Jeff Horn said today.
The volunteer shortage has been a very minor issue, Horn said, citing a good response to the need for bell-ringers.
"It's been very favorable and quite enjoyable the way the area's responded," he said.
Only 40 percent of the 156 red kettles in the Indianapolis area are manned at any given time. Volunteers have put in 250 fewer hours so far this year than last.
Indianapolis spokesman Geoff Muktar said some of that is because stores are asking that people don't ring indoors anymore because it adds congestion.
'It's one thing to stand indoors and ring a bell for four hours, but it's something completely different to stand outdoors,' he said.
And in malls, ringers now use bells with plastic clappers instead of the traditional metal to cut down on noise.
'We try to be sensitive to their needs,' he said. 'We are very gracious that they let us ring.'
A high traffic location brings in as much as $200 during a four-hour shift.
The Indianapolis chapter pays about two-thirds of its bell ringers minimum wage. Most are in the organization's alcohol or drug rehabilitation programs.
The Bloomington chapter has 58 percent fewer bell ringers this year, due to a push to phase out paid ringers. Only six are paid this year, said Clark Morrison, director of the program.
Instead, he is recruiting more fraternities and unpaid volunteers. The volunteer hours are down about 3 percent so far this year - from 779 to 756 and paid ringers are down 55 percent - from 1,955 hours to 824.
'We've had some bands and choirs singing in the mall,' Morrison said. 'We've kind of taken a multi-pronged approach.'
Other Salvation Army chapters are looking at more high-tech ways to combat the dwindling number of volunteers and make it easier to donate.
Officials in Akron, Ohio, last year developed a kettle that accepts credit cards.
'The receipt comes out through the slot where you would normally drop money in,' said Julie Brandle, spokeswoman in Summit County, Ohio.
Last year, the Quest 2000 Kettle brought in about $5,000.
'It's a convenience thing,' Brandle said. 'I think sometimes people don't carry as much cash with them these days. The younger generations are used to using credit cards.'
The average donation at the credit card kettle is higher, too.
'You're probably not going to put a dollar on your credit card,' she said, adding that the receipt allows them to use the donation as a tax write off.
The Akron chapter has since helped at least three other Salvation Army offices - in California, Florida and Pennsylvania - create the machines.
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana doesn't have that technology - everyone's just putting in extra hours to make up for the lack of volunteers.
'We're in a food jam,' said president Pam Altmeyer. 'We're in a volunteer jam.'
Gleaners distributes about 600,000 pounds of food to 300 charities across the state each week. The demand during the holiday season is no different.
'We don't want to disappoint anyone,' Altmeyer said. 'If we don't get it done, there will be families who don't get food.'
They need about 30 volunteers a day to keep up with the work, but only 10 to 15 people have been coming in.
To make it easier for people to volunteer, Gleaners has added evening and weekend hours. The organization also is relying on people from the county's community corrections and probation departments to provide help in lieu of jail time.
