BAXTER-The annual Mills Fleet Farm Day of Caring in Baxter was a tremendous help towards reaching The Salvation Army's goal for the 2016 Christmas Campaign, according to a news release.
"The Day of Caring has become the organization's greatest day for fundraising and this year was no different," the release stated.
Donations to the red kettle at Mills Fleet Farm raised $41,034, nearly doubling last year's amount. The store has agreed to once again match that amount. It's the fifth year of the event and the store has matched every year, and with the match, more than $200,000 has been raised during that time.
"We are so appreciative of Mills Fleet Farm and to everybody else who donated, it's a blessing to live in such an amazing community," said Lt. Grant Holloway, Brainerd Salvation Army administrator, in the release. "The donations will help families have food on their tables, will help people have a warm place to stay at night, others will get the resources they need to break out of the cycle of poverty, and our disaster response team will be able to provide much needed spiritual, emotional and physical support and help in times of crises."
Over the past month, 202 people volunteered more than 1,300 hours to raise $162,000 at the kettles. Other donations brought the total to $220,000, just short of the Brainerd Salvation Army's $250,000 Christmas Campaign goal.
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"We've just been blown away by the generosity of the community," stated Holloway in the release. "We're grateful to everybody and we're looking forward to reaching our goal after all of the donations have been counted."
The kettles may be off the streets, but it's not too late to join The Salvation Army by volunteering or making a donation to support the Brainerd area today. The Salvation Army Northern Division has been serving Minnesota and North Dakota communities since 1886. Today the northern division serves in all 140 counties of both states, providing food, shelter, clothing, youth programs and other services to more than 480,000 people per year.
