While the Lakeshore Holiday Parade may have been cancelled, the Salvation Army of Manitowoc County braved the wind, snow, and cold on Wednesday to kick off its 2025 Red Kettle Campaign.
Captain Jonathan Tamayo stood in front of a six-foot-tall kettle to talk about the importance of the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and what your dollars help them do.
“All funds raised stay here, local in Manitowoc County, to support here all our programming,” he explained. “Whether that’s youth programming, food, rent, toys, coats, and so we need your help to raise these funds to continue to do the most good in Manitowoc County.”
This is Captain Tamayo’s first Christmas season in Manitowoc County, and he couldn’t be happier to be a part of the local community.
“It’s been a joy,” he told SeehaferNews.com with a smile. “My wife and I came from Chicago…and so we’re having young kids, it makes it a lot easier to raise a family in this kind of community. The community is very supportive, and we enjoy that tremendously.”
The local Salvation Army is looking to raise $125,000 as they continue to serve those in need in Manitowoc County.
“One of the big, huge things is with all the government funding that’s been cut, we’ve seen in our food supply,” Captain Tamayo explained. “With TEFAP, we were able to apply for some grants, but we continue to need donations for food because we see that people are in desperate need. Yeah, prices go up and down, but with the SNAP benefits being cut at times…we don’t know what the future holds.”
New this year is a tap to give option, where you simply tap your phone of credit/debit card to instantly give $5, $10, or $20.
The organization is always in need of more people to ring bells and man the red kettles.
To sign up to volunteer, visit SAManitowoc.org or follow them on Facebook to stay up to date.
