The Salvation Army Christmas kickoff

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Salvation Army Kicked off their Christmas season on Thursday night.

Major Douglas McClure the Area Commander for The Salvation Army said, “Today is the kickoff for all of our Salvation Army programs here for Christmas time. A chance for us to tell us about our Angel tree program, about the lives of all the children we are trying to change in the Chattanooga area, and also a chance for us to start our red kettle program, which is our largest fundraiser throughout the year.”

The Angel Tree program is another way to give back.

“So, at Christmas time the angel tree provided Christmas for my family. When you look at the tag you will see that there are not just Christmas toy wishes but the sizes of clothing,” said Major Storm McClure.

For Major McClure the Angel Tree is more than a program, “For me it’s my wife. My wife was an angel tree recipient when she was a child. If it had not been for the Salvation Army my wife would not have those toys and that clothing sometimes, we take for granted. You can imagine in my family that we take the Angel Tree very seriously. I mean it live being touched. It is little kids becoming something else because somebody invested in who they are and what they do. For us it is that impact of Christmas because that is what we know makes a difference in people’s lives.”

The Salvation Army works for many kids and families.

“The stats speak for themselves. By my count we have about 131,000 people in our area facing hunger and food insecurity, and over 50,000 of those are children,” said Mayor Tim Kelly.

They have a large goal for the year.

Kendall Hudson said, “This year we are looking to raise $230,000 through kettles. Roughly, that is about $8,000 a day.”

You will see the Salvation Army real soon.

“You’re going to find bell ringers starting at Hobby Lobby and Bass Pro Shop here real soon. Then you are going to see more coming to Wal-Mart’s and then some coming to our Food City locations. Over 40 locations around the greater Chattanooga area, and we have several more in the Cleveland area that really could use your support this Christmas season,” said Major McClure

For more information you can go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.