Fundraising for the holidays always seems to get off to a quick start, slow down, then pick up again. This season, the Salvation Army says it is not seeing donations picking up again as we move within two weeks of Christmas.

Captain Pam Kasten says the Red Kettle Campaign is down nearly over $14,000 compared to this time last year. She says the issue is that she is down on the number of bell ringers as well.

Kasten notes that fundraising this time of year makes up about one-quarter of the Salvation Army’s yearly budget. If you’d like to ring a bell for a couple of hours, just go to regsitertoring.com to sign up.