The Salvation Army of Palm Beach County set a record in fundraising last week, during Giving Tuesday.
"In the previous two-three years, the highest number of funds raised was $1,400. So we went from $1,400, if you can imagine in one year, to over $300,000."
Spokesman Frank Marangos says that was thanks to a couple of $100,000 matching grants made possible by the Laura Isaac Perlmutter Foundation and the Nelson and Claudia Peltz Foundation.
Frank says those two local organizations had previously helped out the Salvation Army's efforts.
"They actually have donated 70 tons of food between the two family foundations. And we've been taking that food and giving it throughout Palm Beach County to individuals and families that are in need."
He says it doesn't stop with Giving Tuesday.
"People in Palm Beach have really risen to the occasion and have been donating much more than in the past."
You may notice fewer bell-ringers while out holiday shopping this year, but that's not stopping people from slipping money into those red kettles. Quite the contrary, according to Marangos.
"Although there's not the same number of kettles out there and bellringers, the money that is coming in from each location, each region, is more than it was last year with more kettles."
He believes that more people who CAN give are doing so, because it helps those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"They really are responding because they understand what it would be like to be in this kind of need."
You can even give a cashless donation to the red kettle, by using the QR code on the kettles with your smarphone. That will send you to a donation page.
Click Here to find more ways to give this holiday season.
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