Red Kettle campaign kicks off in Rainier and Clatskanie

Starting this week, community members of Clatskanie and Rainier will notice Salvation Army red kettles placed in more than 40 businesses throughout the two towns. This effort is part of a holiday campaign to support the local Salvation Army Voucher program, which provides emergency financial relief for Rainier and Clatskanie residents.

As discussed in an August article titled "Bell ringing funds local emergency-relief programs," the funding of the Salvation Army Voucher program is solely sourced from bell-ringing and counter kettle campaigns during the holiday season.

Executive Director of Turning Point Kelly Miller, who oversees the distribution of funds from the voucher program for Turning Point and HOPE of Rainier clients, had shared the challenge in making the budget stretch to accommodate the variety and volume of needs. Last year's efforts raised $1,750 to cover requests from both towns throughout the entire 2025 calendar year.

"My internal program at Turning Point is called Neighbors Helping Neighbors," said Miller. "Clients are only able to access funds once every six months, and it is mainly for things that come up where there isn't a resource. Let's say a client comes in and they have a doctor's appointment, their bills are past due, [or] they're threatening to get shut off. Since both fall under the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program, they have to decide which is more important. In that case, the larger of the two bills would be resourced through Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and the gas voucher I would use Salvation Army funding so they get help for both. It's a struggle and a balancing act trying to determine which fund am I going to take the money from that's going to best serve that client while still allowing us to remain sustainable."

To help meet increasing needs, the Rainier and Clatskanie Chambers of Commerce have worked together and recruited more than 40 businesses to implement an extensive counter kettle campaign to complement existing bell-ringing efforts with the goal of driving higher donations to fund the voucher program in 2026.

The red counter kettles will be on display throughout November and December and run concurrent to bell-ringing activities to take place at Safeway in Clatskanie and Grocery Outlet in Rainier during the latter part of November and throughout December.

All donations made to the red kettles godirectly back into the community. The organizations are also requesting community members, businesses, and groups to volunteer for a bell-ringing shift during the holiday season. For example, employees at Fibre Federal in Rainier have signed-up for a number of shifts throughout December as an act of community service.

Sign-ups are available at Turning Point in Clatskanie and HOPE of Rainier Thrift Store in Rainier as well as through Salvation Army's website (registertoring.com). To see a list of participating businesses throughout the season, visit the Rainier and Clatskanie Chambers of Commerce Facebook pages.