TAMWORTH residents have dug deep for the Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal, with more than $18,000 raised around the city this year, up a whopping 38 per cent on last year.
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The total for the New England region was also up 13 per cent on the 2015 figure, a total of $49,329 going into the Salvos’ coffers.
Captain Rhonda Clutterbuck couldn’t have been happier with the total, praising the generosity of Tamworth, and the region.
She said it was particularly pleasing given she and husband Dean only moved to Tamworth earlier this year and were still in the process of establishing the relationships and community partnerships that helped make the likes of the Red Shield such a success.
“We’re really looking forward to next year’s appeal, expanding on this year by partnering with the community more and building on the relationships we’ve already formed,” Captain Clutterbuck said.
While the official Red Shield doorknock weekend was at the start of June, the final total for Tamworth has only been calculated this week.
Students from Farrrer Memorial Agricultural High School were keen to participate but were unable to on the official collection weekend, and then were washed out on their next two attempts.
More than 100 boys finally hit the streets last weekend, collecting almost $2000.
Captain Clutterbuck said all money would go back into the Salvation Army’s national programs, many of which are run across the region.
As winter has started to bite in the past few weeks, she said they’d started to get more inquiries for assistance from local residents and she expected that to increase in the coming weeks, as people felt the pinch of rising electricity and gas accounts in particular.
“When these bills start rolling in, they don’t have the cash for other things,” Captain Clutterbuck said.
She said all the Salvation Army stores were in need of more winter clothing, and blankets were in short supply.