Holiday Assistance

Thanksgiving and Christmas Assistance

Holidays can bring added financial and emotional stress to families and individuals living in poverty. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas assistance programs help alleviate this increased stress by meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of our neighbors.

To maximize safety amid the pandemic, all assistance sign-ups will be online. No in-person sign-ups will be held this year.

Thanksgiving Baskets
Each year, The Salvation Army with the help of Avera McKennan employees and Hy-Vee, provides over 600 Thanksgiving Baskets to families in need. Families in need receive a box of non-perishable, traditional Thanksgiving food items, along with a gift certificate to purchase a turkey or other meat from their local Hy-Vee store.

Christmas Assistance
Our Christmas Assistance program ensures there are gifts under the tree and food on the table for more than 1,200 families and individuals in our community each year. Families are invited to shop at our Toy Town to choose gifts for their children, and every registrant receives a voucher to purchase food at a local grocery store for their Christmas meal.

This year our Christmas Basket/Toy Town will take place on Tuesday, December 17^th, Wednesday, December 18^th and Thursday, December 19^th. Extra hands are needed to assist parents as they shop through our Toy Shop and to assist parents to their vehicles with their selections. Interested in helping out? Email Natasha Letcher to volunteer.

Empire Mall Angel Tree
Each year, The Empire Mall lets us place our main toy collection tree at their facility. The tree is located inside the mall in front of Macy’s. Volunteers are needed to host the tree through Christmas Eve. Email Natasha Letcher to volunteer.

Bell Ringing
When you volunteer to stand at our kettles, you're not just ringing a bell, you're changing lives and strengthening our community. The Salvation Army is able to help struggling individuals, families, and our community thanks to our Red Kettle Campaign. Our bell ringing season starts at certain locations on Monday, November 6th, and is available at all locations as of Friday, November 10th

 Register to ring today

Help Those in Need

If you’d like to help those in need this holiday season, please consider donating food and/or baskets/totes for Thanksgiving baskets. Donations can be dropped off at our community center, 900 N. Cliff Avenue. See our suggested list of items to donate here.

Or help make a family’s Christmas special by making a monetary or toy donation through our Angel Tree program.