Salvation Army launches new type of Red Kettle campaign amid pandemic

CHICAGO - The Salvation Army is launching a new type of Red Kettle campaign this year.

"We have seen, throughout the Chicagoland area, a 500 percent increase in the need since this pandemic began," said Salvation Army Captain Peter Mount.

To meet that need and keep people safe, the organization is allowing anyone to start an online Red Kettle fundraiser.

"People can start their own online Red Kettle and challenge their friends and send that link to them and maybe have a competition to see what that looks like," said Mount.

Donations will help the organization's food pantry and emergency bill assistance program, which have seen a tremendous spike in need.

"We've seen a lot of different folks, many of which have never utilized the services of the Salvation Army before," said Mount.

The Ramos family of Aurora is a perfect example. In March, Chrisann Ramos was one of Kane County's first COVID-19 patients. She suffered a massive heart attack from the illness. When her family was told they would have to quarantine for a month, without proper food stocked, they didn't know where to turn.

"It still moves me. It still moves me to this day," Chrisann's husband John Ramos said about the support they received from the Salvation Army. "We didn't know what to do and here, all the sudden, here's people reaching out to us saying we'll keep an eye on you guys."

The Salvation Army provided the family with food and proper personal protective gear to keep John and their daughter Lexi safe.

"Please donate. There are a lot of people out there who have unfortunate circumstances come up and it's something that we feel that if they can help us, they can help a lot of people in need," said John.

FOX 32's Natalie Bomke has started a Red Kettle and she wants your support! You can drop a dollar in her kettle by going to this website!