"We're going to have more than 900 children to help this Christmas," said Pat Wright, social services supervisor for The Salvation Army, "and more applications are expected right up to Christmas.

"They are Hispanic, they are white, they are Korean, Somalian, Sudanese and Vietnamese and Hmong and every other ethnic background. There is no color distinction at The Salvation Army."

Donations are welcome at The Salvation Army any day this week.

Everybody is moving, everyone is busy.

The Newman brothers -- Ron, Dennis and Bobby -- stop for a cup of coffee and to visit with Ron Houff and Dave Pickett, who have retired, but return to The Salvation Army Austin Corps headquarters every day to gab.

Val Maloney -- Pat Wright's mother -- is on the telephone or in the kitchen. The mother and daughter combination will cook the free Christmas Day dinner at the community center.

Bev Smith, a steadfast volunteer, greets another client with a last-minute request at the reception desk.

Major Linda Yeck and other office staff are busy in their offices.

There's activity in the basement, where food baskets are being filled and presents wrapped.

If there were little people in stocking caps and a fat man in a red suit, this could be a similarly busy place at the North Pole.

Instead, it's The Salvation Army and it's where people come for help -- many people this holiday season.

Group requests increase

The majority of the applications for Christmas assistance come from the city of Austin and many include families of six, seven and eight children. There is one family of 11 children, according to Wright.

The Salvation Army's Angel Tree is one way the children receive presents at Christmas. Until the Angel Tree project at Oak Park Mall ended Friday, shoppers could select a name and purchase a present for that child.

"There are a lot of names left on the Angel Tree this year," Wright said.

The Salvation Army will be forced to use other resources to purchase gifts for the remaining children.

"Everybody is going to get something," Wright said. "They always do. The city of Austin, individuals, Hormel Foods, local dentists, church groups, schools and clubs and organizations all help out."

Wright is also counting on the area Toys For Tots campaign to help supply presents for the children, ages newborn to 19, who need the assistance.

"Christmas is for everyone. We don't want anybody to go ignored," Wright said.

Wright is relieved the Coats For Kids project has been successful. "Right now, we've got coats on the racks. They're clean and ready to go," she said.

Filling the kettles

When newspaper reports erroneously suggested that a ring-off between representatives of the Austin Police Department and Mower County Sheriff's Office raised $6,856 and $8,219 respectively, Jim Middleton was excited -- for a moment.

"Boy," he said, "that would have been something. That really got me going."

In reality the amounts were $68.56 and $82.19, but Middleton will take that. Everything adds up for The Salvation Army's bell ringers.

Middleton is in charge of the campaign to fill the familiar red kettles.

For the 40th straight year, Austin Shriners outdid everyone, collecting $3,852 in one day of bell-ringing all over Austin.

Now Middleton and Ted Peterson, another stalwart soldier are hoping the last days of bell-ringing will fill the red buckets.

Middleton has promoted "celebrity" ring-offs to stimulate interest among shoppers at Christmas: Mel Saxton's Austin Ford-Lincoln-Mercury versus Usem's Inc. Chevrolet-Cadillac-Oldsmobile-Pontiac and Buick, the Austin mayor and city council versus the Mower County Board of Commissioners and others.

For the second straight year, Middleton organized the Homeless for a Day fund-raiser last week and collected $3,200 for The Salvation Army. Again it involved local celebrities, such as attorney Tom Baudler, Development Corporation of Austin Director George Brophy, employees from Harty Mechanical and Fashion Bug, Wells Fargo Bank of Austin, Fox Electric and Kestner Electric, Kiwanis Club members and SEMCAC.

Going into the last week before Christmas, Middleton said, "We have a lot of volunteers and we're getting a lot of support. We're doing the best we can."

Still concerned

Major Doug Yeck, however, can't hide his concern.

"We're seeing the requests extend into what would traditionally be called the 'middle class'," Yeck said. "That's a real change from before and this is one of the reasons the requests for assistance are up. We also have people who are fighting for their very existence."

When the attendance at the twice-weekly free community dinners increased to an average of 100 per day, that prompted The Salvation Army to begin planning to double the meals to four per week beginning in January 2003.

But today, Yeck is worried about the current holiday fund appeal and helping people at Christmas.

"Right now, we are $17,236 behind last year's total at this time," he said. "Last year, we ended up raising $108,000, but I don't know if we can do that two years in a row."

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at

lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com