The Salvation Army achieves the Red Kettle goal and heads to the end of the year in the midst of “the easiest year” for leadership

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (WANE) — Though there were some concerns that the Allen County Salvation Army might miss its Red Kettle campaign goal, Tuesday’s final count showed it surpassed its $233,000 goal.

The final tally came to $292,788 after adding a matching donation from Hanning and Bean Enterprises.

“It’s a huge, huge number,” said Kenyon Sivels, pastor and administrator at The Salvation Army. “We give thanks to the Lord and above all for his provision.”

This is the third year that Sivels has served with the Salvation Army in Fort Wayne with his wife, Melissa.

The two met at a Salvation Army Bible camp in Wisconsin.

This is her third station in the service of The Salvation Army. The nonprofit organization moves its officer to a new city every 3-6 years, and before coming to Fort Wayne, Sivels and his wife previously worked in Mason City, Iowa, and Watertown, South Dakota.

Of their three years, Sivels told WANE 15 that this has been the easiest his family has ever had in Fort Wayne.

“Our first year was Covid, last year my dad died and we had some illnesses and this year we also had some illnesses but we had more people ringing bells,” Sivels said. “We had more volunteers this year than any of our three Christmases.”

But the successful season is far from over. Even as The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program distributes gifts to hundreds of children, Sivels has his eyes on year-end donations to provide more service to Allen County in the coming year.

“There are still donations coming in at the end of the year, and we want to encourage people to still do that,” Sivels said. “The money raised during the season goes back to the people, back to the programs.”

These programs range from camps for children to groups specifically for mothers.

In addition to the money they hope to receive by the end of the year, every dollar donated by Hanning and Bean Enterprises will be matched by the new year, up to $125,000.

You can donate online during business hours or bring money to The Salvation Army Corps located at 2901 N Clinton St, Fort Wayne, IN 46805.