We’ve all heard the saying, “it takes a village” and that was certainly true this October. The Salvation Army has been priviledged to partner with Tuchman Cleaners and Bob Gregory and our friends from WTHR-13 for the past 24 years to gather, clean and distribute coats to kids in need. Hoosiers are a generous group of people donating enough coats (and dollars to buy more coats) to clothe all of the kids who attended Saturday’s distribution day at the Fairgrounds.

So, we’d like to take a moment to thank all the people and businesses who make this event a success. Thanks to Two Men and Truck for donating their time and trucks to pick up coats around the city and deliver them to Tuchman Cleaners for cleaning. We appreciate the hundreds of volunteer hours spent collecting, sorting and setting up coats for easy shopping. Thanks to Burlington Coat Factory and Walmart for hosting our teams while they shopped with the donated dollars. Thanks to our friends at WTHR-13 for their time helping parents fit their kids with coats. And for the officers from Cops for Kids (pictured above) who joined us to give the kids warm hats and gloves to accompany those new coats! Of course, we can’t forget our friends at the Indiana Pacers, Butler University and the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders for helping us show the families a good time while they wait.

So, are you feeling all warm and fuzzy now? You didn’t miss out on your chance to make a difference in Indy this season. We have lots of volunteer opportunities for you and your group. Check them out here.

Or maybe you’d like to help us with our WIBC Radiothon goal to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter…go to WIBCRadiothon.org and check out how you can get involved.

Thanks so much to all of our hourly and in-kind sponsors – to Emmis Communications and the amazing men and women who produced the -athon, the programmers, the personalities, just everyone who’s made it easy to call Emmis’ lobby home for the past 55 hours. We would not be able to do what we’ve done without their dedication and enthusiasm.

And here are the teary thanks, so buckle up – Thanks to our Radiothon Chair, Quinn Buckner and the Indiana Pacers. You set the tone for giving before the event went on the air! Thanks to Walmart for that incredible demonstration of support! Not only did your $100,000 bump that total, but it went a LONG way in encouraging our listeners to step up and make the calls. Thanks to our Phone Bank sponsor, ValPak and REACH magazine for your generosity and the manpower to keep those calls a’comin. And we can’t forget the folks at Markey’s Rental and Staging for the donation of our big screens – the tote boards are so vital in communicating with our phone bank and with the studio.

On behalf of all of the men, women and children we serve, THANK YOU for your support! This weekend, you’ve truly made a difference right here in Indiana!

Thanks so much to all of our hourly and in-kind sponsors – to Emmis Communications and the amazing men and women who produced the -athon, the programmers, the personalities, just everyone who’s made it easy to call Emmis’ lobby home for the past 55 hours. We would not be able to do what we’ve done without their dedication and enthusiasm.

And here are the teary thanks, so buckle up – Thanks to our Radiothon Chair, Quinn Buckner and the Indiana Pacers. You set the tone for giving before the event went on the air! Thanks to Walmart for that incredible demonstration of support! Not only did your $100,000 bump that total, but it went a LONG way in encouraging our listeners to step up and make the calls. Thanks to our Phone Bank sponsor, ValPak and REACH magazine for your generosity and the manpower to keep those calls a’comin. And we can’t forget the folks at Markey’s Rental and Staging for the donation of our big screens – the tote boards are so vital in communicating with our phone bank and with the studio.

On behalf of all of the men, women and children we serve, THANK YOU for your support! This weekend, you’ve truly made a difference right here in Indiana!

Not familiar with Radiothon? It’s a 55-hour marathon of giving hosted on WIBC 93.1fm this December 11-13. WIBC’s on-air personalities donate their programming time to invite us in and let our partners and staff and volunteers tell how we’re reaching out to our fellow Hoosiers in need throughout the year.

This event is vital to our fundraising efforts for the entire year. With about 84 cents of every donated dollar going directly to life-changing programs in our communities, these 3 days go a long way! Sponsorship and pledge dollars help us provide shelter for the homeless, refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, after-school and summer opportunities for metro Indy children, support for families after natural disasters and assistance for families struggling to provide the basics after job loss.

We’d like to thank our 2009 Radiothon Chair, Quinn Buckner and the Indiana Pacers for their help with Radithon this year. And thanks to our sponsors who’ve already joined us - ValPak and REACH magazine for signing on as our phone bank sponsor, Markey’s Audio Visual for providing our big screens, Dunkin’ Donuts, Planned Investments, Klipsch, Royal Spa, EMS, am/pm convenience stores, Windsor Jewelers, Gas America, the Northwest Kiwanis, Dellen Automotive, Applied Intelligence, The Mutual Fund Store, Indy Moms Like Me, Firestone and Walmart.

We’re still looking for businesses to step up and sponsor an hour during this event. Sponsorships start as low as $500 and can be paid into 2009 with advertising or community budgets. We’re also in need of businesses to donate items for prize packages that encourage callers to phone in and pledge their support.

If you’re interested in teaming up with us for this event, please give Kristen a call at 224-1019 or visit WIBCRadiothon.org to learn more.

WISH TV-8 anchorman, Eric Halvorson kicked off his fifth season as Chair at our Tree of Lights ceremony this morning. Community leaders and volunteers gathered to show support in raising this year’s campaign goal of $3 million – the largest goal ever set by The Salvation Army in Central Indiana. That’s an ambitious goal in a tough economic climate, but with requests for assistance soaring, we will need every last dollar to continue to provide food, shelter, utility and holiday assistance to our neighbors in need.

Walmart has generously agreed to once again serve as our Tree of Lights tree sponsor. Also joining us at this morning’s kick-off event was our 15th annual WIBC Radiothon team of Radiothon Chair and Pacers’ VP of Communications, Quinn Buckner and Terri Stacy and Joe Staysniak of the WIBC Morning Show. And special music was provided by the St. Richard’s singers and The Salvation Army Brass Ensemble. Our Divisional Commanders Majors Richard and Vicki Amick encouraged each of us to help our communities in need – if just one in ten people in Marion County could donate just $30 each, we’d collect that $3 million by Christmas! Now that’s not so unattainable.

We’d like to thank our corporate partners for their attendance and support this holiday season – Jerome Rauch – Walmart, John Elliott – Kroger and Jay Ricker – Ricker’s Oil and am/pm convenience stores and Two Men and A Truck. Thanks to Dunkin’ Donuts and GFS Marketplace for providing coffee and hot cocoa to all. Of course, we couldn’t have a tree lighting ceremony without our partners at Barth Electric. Thanks to the folks at WISH TV-8 for loaning Eric to us and for hosting and promoting the WISHTree toy collections throughout the season and at the December 13 Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Of course, this is just the beginning of the season for us. If you’d like to involve your business or organization, we’d love to have you join us! WIBC Radiothon hourly sponsorships and in-kind sponsorships are still available at WIBCRadiothon.org. Or, you can become a toy collection site and host a collection box – last year we were able to play Santa to over 900 families because of donations collected in offices and store fronts across Central Indiana! Ring a bell, host an on-line red kettle or just drop a few bucks in the kettle as you go by. With a $3 million goal, we can use all the help we can get!

With a few dollars in last minute donations to spend for Coats for Kids, we called our friends at Walmart to see which store had the most coats available in stock. With $1,000 to spend, we knew we’d find good coats for great prices. Well, we can always count on Walmart to go above and beyond with their support for The Salvation Army. After hosting our shoppers and helping us with our purchases, Walmart donated $5,000 in coats to Indy’s kids in need! We just can’t thank Walmart enough for helping us help families who are struggling.  

This year’s Bob Gregory’s Coats For Kids was easily the largest distribution day to date with the line to enter at the Northwest Pavilion stretching for blocks around the Indiana State Fairgrounds. This annual partnership with Tuchman Cleaners and WTHR-13 distributed coats to more than 5,000 area children on Saturday. (Check out the video on the right)

We’d also like to thank our event partners, Two Men And A Truck, the Indianapolis Colts, Store And Move, Burlington Coat Factory, and the hundreds of volunteers who make this event happen.  It truly takes a community’s efforts to reach out to so many in need. “No one group could pull off something like this,” said WTHR retired weatherman Bob Gregory.  “This is a team effort dedicated to helping those who need it most.”  Bob has been a part of every coats campaign since it’s beginning 23 years ago.  “I’ve never seen a crowd like this,” he said.  “But I’ve also never seen a community respond like this before.” 

If you didn’t get the opportunity to help with Coats for Kids, remember Angel Tree and Toy Shop begin next month. Last year, we helped over 900 Hoosier families with Christmas gifts, and we’re certain to have even more requests from parents experiencing recent lay-offs and job losses. Stay tuned for details of how your group or business can help Christmas wishes come true for Indy’s kids this December.

Do you realize that a week ago you changed lives? I’m not kidding. When you answered my call (or made that call yourself) you made a decision that will have a profound impact on someone’s life. If you were able to listen during our WIBC Radiothon last weekend, you heard the stories of women in our shelter, of volunteers who understand what it’s like to give to those who are struggling, of Angela who was able to turn her life around at our Harbor Light rehabilitation center. Your generosity makes that happen!

When you drop a dollar into a kettle on your way out of Walmart or when you set up an on-line red kettle to encourage giving and spread the word about how you support Salvation Army programs, you’re not just making a donation. When you give to The Salvation Army, you are making an investment in the lives of men, women and children right here in your community. That’s a better return than Wall Street these days!

Thanks for all you do to help us do what we do – it’s a partnership we don’t take for granted.

Through the Tree of Lights campaign and the generous support of Hoosiers, over 27 thousand people receive assistance from the Salvation Army last year. The goal this year is to raise 2.75 million dollars to once again help the thousands who are homeless, fleeing domestic abuse, overcoming addictions, or trying to get back on their feet after loosing everything in this summer’s flooding.

The lighting of our tree, the symbol of the Tree of Lights campaign, was once again made possible by a generous gift from Walmart.  Jason Wetzel, Senior Public Affairs Manager,  shared that the partnership between the Salvation Army and Walmart is the longest running Walmart partnership in the country.  Last year, more than a quarter of the money raised in Salvation Army Red Kettles was collected in front of Walmart stores.

Halvorson shared that last year the campaign raised enough to give toys to over 700 families through the annual WISHTree/AngelTree program and helped more than 1,200 people overcome their addictions. The He went on to urge everyone to “give what you can to help the Salvation Army during this holiday season.”

Halvorson also officially announced basketball legend and Pacers’ VP of Communications, Quinn Buckner will serve as this year’s WIBC Radiothon Chair. The three-day live fundraising event on 93.1 fm will go on the air December 12-14. Buckner introduced WIBC radio personalities Terri Stacy and Big Joe Staysniack as well. “It comes from our hearts when we do the Radiothon,” said Terri, encouraging the community to once again make the call and support the programs that provide shelter, programs for at-risk children and emergency disaster services. (To learn more about the WIBC Radiothon, or to become a partner visit WIBCRadiothon.org or call Kristen at 224-1019.)

Thanks to Dunkin’ Donuts for providing hot coffee and muchkins for all in attendance. And to the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary for donating the first contribution of the campaign. Thanks to all those in attendance and to all of you who support our mission to continue “Doing the Most Good” for those who need it most.

A familiar sound greeted Walmart shoppers yesterday – the ringing of Salvation Army bells. Walmart kicked off the Christmas season a little early as they celebrated the opening of their new Walmart Christmas Shops. And to add to the festivities, they invited us to join them by ringing bells at each store across America. 

Each year, Walmart kicks off the season by announcing their partnership with The Salvation Army. So this past Thursday, the Walmart Foundation presented a $1.25 million check to Salvation Army National Commander, Commissioner Isreal Gaither at Walmart’s historic store #1 in Roger’s Arkansas.  The donation will be equally divided among Salvation Army units across the United States to help meet the basic needs of those hit hardest by our nation’s recent economic events.

Here in Indiana, our season starts on November 20 at our Tree of Lights campaign tree lighting ceremony on our front lawn. Once again, we are proud to partner with Walmart as our tree sponsor. And, after the tree is lit, you’ll see red kettles outside Walmart stores here in Indy and throughout Indiana.

To find out more about The Salvation Army’s Tree of Lights Campaign, visit IndyKettle.org. And if you’d like to help your neighbors in need by volunteering to ring a bell this Christmas, call Elizabeth at 224-1010.