KANSAS CITY — The Salvation Army in Kansas City is painting its red kettles green and plans to place them along the St. Patrick's Day parade route to raise badly needed money.
Donations will be put into the group's new program called Neighbor to Neighbor, created to help the charity pay for emergency assistance such as utilities and rent. Bell-ringing volunteers will be stationed along the 1.3-mile parade route.
Major Jeffrey Smith, divisional commander of the group's Kansas City unit, said $50,000 was given to the program when he appealed for donations at a Dec. 8 dinner. Smith hopes to raise another $100,000, all of which would go directly to people in need because operating costs for the program are already budgeted.
Last year The Salvation Army handed out nearly $2 million in emergency assistance.