"I'm going to give you some numbers, and I want to see smiles on everybody's faces. And then I want to see a big cheer once you hear what the numbers are."
Former Mayor and Representative from Moorhead Morrie Lanning served as honorary "Kettle Chairman" for the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign in the Fargo-Moorhead area. He says this year the community's capacity to give surpassed expectations.
"We had a goal of $870,000 for the campaign this year. And I am pleased to announce that we have raised a grand total of $889,857.86."
Salvation Army Majors Byron and Elaine Medlock say the money will go a long way to address the ongoing needs within the F-M community. They say that the increased demand is felt in their soup kitchen.
"The problem is, our feeding is up - it was up last month. Considerably. The colder it gets, people come and eat. You'd be surprised - we come down here on Monday morning, or Sunday night - and they are lined up already, ready to come in to get a hot meal. I have been at the door on Sunday night checking them in, and all they can say is, 'Man, that meal was good.'"
Lanning says about 5-thousand bell ringers volunteered over 7-thousand hours in the Red Kettle Campaign this year. The Medlocks say despite the cold weather, volunteering was up at least 3 percent over last year.
