A donor wishing to remain anonymous read about the Columbus Ind. Salvation Army’s $5,000 combined donation from Cummins and Toyota Material Handling North America last week and decided he wanted to be a part of the support.
Especially after ministry leaders encouraged local residents to work to match the corporate gift.
Since each firm each donated $2,500 — as part of a total of $20,000 to various local agencies — the man walked in unannounced to the ministry and social service office on Dec. 14 at 2525 Illinois Ave. and donated $2,500.
Then he returned later in the day, saying “That’s not enough,” and wrote another check for the same amount, providing a total gift of $5,000.
“You just like to see me cry,” Nancy Johnson said to the donor. Johnson is administrative assistant for social services at the Salvation Army in Columbus, 2525 Illinois Ave.
The nonprofit agency buys gifts for about 500 underprivileged young people at Christmas, operates a food pantry, helps struggling residents with some bills, sends youngsters to summer camp, oversees a Christian church, leads a prison ministry and also offers addiction help via its regional Harbor Light Center in downtown Indianapolis.
It offers a variety of other programs as well.
The local Red Kettle campaign, slated to last through Monday, stands at about $52,000, nearly $75,000 short of its Christmas Eve goal of $125,000. All of that money is used in Bartholomew County, according to organizers, with money from that campaign funding the Salvation Army’s work for the coming year.
Last year’s Red Kettle campaign, called a down year by Lt. Amy Tompkins, the Salvation Army’s local leader, raised $79,000, well short of its goal.
Red Kettle Campaign leaders now have a mini-goal for the remaining days of this year’s campaign as well. They are challenging bell-ringing, Red Kettle attendants at area locations to raise a $5,000 match to the corporate gift by Saturday evening.
Johnson said the unexpected, individual $5,000 donation does not count toward the planned match.
Yet, such kindness is a huge boost, said board member Steve Fisher, also the agency’s busiest bell ringer the past few years.
“Having something like that just really, really helps,” Fisher said.
