The Austin Salvation Army’s red kettle program fell short if its goal this year, but Maj.

Saturday, January 13, 2001

The Austin Salvation Army’s red kettle program fell short if its goal this year, but Maj. Doug Yeck is optimistic that by the end of the month they will move closer to their projections.

After totaling the kettle count on Monday, Yeck said that the amount given was $81,150.99. Their goal this year was $90,000, mirroring the amount of $90,143 given in 1999.

However, "a fair amount of money has come in since Monday," said Yeck on Thursday. "We won’t reach $90,000, but we may well have gone over the $85,000 mark."

Yeck attributes the lower amount received to market saturation, saying that many Austin-area residents gave money to Salvation Army flood relief they would otherwise have given to the red kettle program.

"People give so much," said Yeck. "Taking the flood relief into account, we did well and went over the $90,000." But on the specific target they fell short, meaning that they will not be able to help with rising utility costs as much as they would have been able to had they reached their kettle goal.

Yeck said that government funds or grants may be on the horizon to aid the Austin Salvation Army in helping others, but that is not guaranteed.

In the meantime, Yeck is confident that new donations will be coming in. "Before the month is over we may press to $88,000," said Yeck. "But that is just a guess."