IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN WHERE BELLS WILL SOON BE RINGING ACROSS ONONDAGA COUNTY… THE SIGN THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS AMONG US… AND MANY CHARITIES ACROSS THE COUNTY ARE STILL LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS…
“People need help and the regular volunteers are kind of overwhelmed.”
LOU SAYS THE GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH FOOD PANTRY SERVES ABOUT 30 HOUSEHOLDS ON A TYPICAL THURSDAY… AND THIS NUMBER WILL ONLY DOUBLE DURING THE HOLIDAYS…. AND AS MOST OF THE CURRENT VOLUNTEERS ARE RETIREES- THEY’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR YOUNGER HELPERS…
“We always need young people who can physically help carry their groceries.”
AND HERE AT THE SALVATION ARMY- THEY’RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT CHRISTMAS AND MAKING SURE EVERY CHILD IN SYRACUSE FEELS REMEMBERED BY SANTA CLAUS..
“We start planning in March for the holidays- Christmas essentially starts in October for us. And with the amount of poverty here – we serve 44,000 people in Syracuse. All the money that goes into the kettle goes directly to those people.”
EARLY NEXT MONTH – THE SALVATION ARMY WILL HOST SEVERAL DISTRBUTION DAYS WHERE FAMILIES CAN PICK UP FOOD AND TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS…
“You know if you want to give back, especially around the holidays, now is the time to give us a call. We want to provide Christmas for everyone that needs it. I mean we provided Christmas for almost 10,000 kids last year. You know every parent wants their kid to have Christmas, regardless of their situation.”
THE SALVATION ARMY’S RED KETTLE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES NEXT WEEK AT DESTINY U-S-A… REPORTING IN SYRACUSE, I’M REBEKAH CASTOR, N-C-C NEWS.
By Rebekah Castor (Syracuse, N.Y.) — It’s that time of the year again where bells will soon be ringing across Onondaga County. The holiday season is among us and many local charities have already been preparing for months.
“We start planning for the holidays in March,” Andrew Sabbaghzadeh, the Director of Development of the Salvation Army in Syracuse, said. “For us, Christmas starts October 1st.”
The Salvation Army, along with several other charities in the area are currently looking for more volunteers to help out during the busy holiday season.
“We have lots of different ways people can help out,” Sabbaghzadeh said. “Ringing bells is an easy way to do good during the holidays. It’s very easy, even my four-year-old does it.
The Grace Episcopal Food Pantry is another non-profit that could also use more volunteers this month. On a regular Thursday, this food pantry serves between 25 and 30 households, according to volunteers.
“Most of the households we serve have a lot of children,” Louis Clark, a volunteer at the food pantry, said. “During the holidays, the amount of people coming in will almost double.”
Clark wants to encourage young people to find a place to volunteer, especially during the holiday season.
“So often, a lot of charities are run by older people who have free time now that they’ve retired,” Clark said. “We always need young people to carry out people’s groceries to their car.”
For more information on getting involved with a non-profit during the holiday, please visit the websites linked above, or visit The United Way of Central New York website.
Map of places to volunteer in Syracuse, N.Y. 
