The holiday season is full of cheer, but for some it can be a stressful time trying to decide whether to pay the bills or buy Christmas presents. The community of Austin has held different donation drives for many years, and this year it’s happening again. From Toys for Tots and Angel Trees to the red kettle campaign and Feed a Family, there are many different donation drives this year.

Several organizations are trying to meet their goals and help families in the community. Here is a look at some the holidy drives going on this holiiday seson:

Red kettle campaign

The ringing bells heard around town are not just Christmas songs this holiday season.

The Salvation Army is headlong into its annual red kettle campaign.

As of Tuesday, the annual drive — with red kettles and mail donations — had raised $53,920 of this year’s $125,000 goal, which Lt. David Amick said was on par compared to previous years. Amick said organizers have met their goals for the last two years, and he has hopes that they will again meet that goal.

Volunteers can be seen outside or inside several stores like Hy-Vee and Walmart ringing bells for donations. Although the year started a little odd, with fewer volunteers than usual after Thanksgiving, Amick said the pace has picked up and volunteers are on track, similar to previous years.

“This has been an unusual year,” Amick said. “In years past, usually after Thanksgiving we start to see a large influx of bell ringers.”

He attributed it to being a strange year, and hopes it will continue on par from now on.

The Salvation Army is still looking for volunteers this season through Dec. 24 to help ring bells and fill the kettles. To volunteer, people can go online to salvationarmynorth.org, or speak with Salvation Army Volunteer Coordinator Kris Maier.

“As long as they can ring a bell and have a cheerful attitude, that’s all we’re looking for,” Amick said.

Angel Tree Campaign

The red kettles aren’t the only holiday campaign the Salvation Army is holding.

The Angel Tree campaign has trees in both Walmart and Shopko, where people can take an ornament with an age-range and gender to get ideas for gifts to purchase for children. Then they drop the gifts off underneath the trees.

“The main goal for the Angel Trees is to help provide toys for kids that may otherwise not get a Christmas, so the idea is to help out those in need,” Amick said.

The toys will be picked up Dec. 17, and distributed Dec. 18 and 19.

Amick said although the donations have been good in the past years, there is always one age group left without much: teens. As the distribution gets closer, organizers have taken monetary donations for the cause and purchased items for that age-category on their own. They recognize that it isn’t an easy age to buy for, as they themselves have a hard time finding gifts to purchase.

Amick said his daughters were once teens, so it made shopping easier. Now volunteers simply try to follow the trends. But the needs have always been met one way or another.

“Between Angel Trees and Toys for Tots, our toys have been sufficiently supplied,” Amick said.

This year, the distribution will take place at the Salvation Army instead of the Oak Park Mall. Amick said it was nice using the space for distribution, but they decided to try the Salvation Army building to cut down on transporting items.

“There was a lot of transporting toys back and forth, and in this case if there’s anything that needs to be transported we can just bring it to one spot,” Amick said.

Feed a Family

The Austin community has a history of giving to those in need, and it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down.

Feed a Family is just one of the programs in Austin designed to help those in need over the holidays. Families sign up with the Salvation Army and receive from Hy-Vee an entire Christmas meal for free.

“I think one thing that’s exciting is to live in a community that really does care about each other, and I think that’s what Feed a Family is all about,” Hy-Vee manager Todd Hepler said.

The meals include a ham, a five-pound bag of mashed potatoes, one-pound of cranberry relish, dinner rolls, a pie, two cans of vegetables and a one-pound package of butter.

“Feed a Family is a community program to make sure that every person in our community … gets an entire Christmas dinner,” Hepler said.

The program has been going on for seven years. Much of the food is donated by vendors, which helps offset the cost of about $50 per meal. But not all the cost is covered. This is where the community gets involved. People can donate any dollar amount they choose to the program. People can make donations both over the phone and at the register. Donations are accepted through Christmas Eve, and families can sign up to receive a meal through this Thursday. The meals are given out the Monday before Christmas at Hy-Vee.

“The community donates to it really well, every year we’ve been able to fulfill all the needs,” Hepler said.

They have given meals to 600 to 900 families in the past. Although organizers have exceeded goals in previous years, this year they are behind where they normally sit with donations.

“We really do need to have people come out and support the program,” Hepler said.

Donations have topped $4,000, which Hepler said is about half of the $9,000 they usually have this time of year. Yet Hepler is hopeful and said many people donate within the last few weeks of the campaign.

“It’s more than just talk, it’s people showing action that they really do care,” Hepler said.

Toys for Tots

Toys for Tots is accepting donations through Dec. 17. People can stop by US Bank in Austin to drop of toys or cash donations under the donation tree or to the tellers. In past years, the donation bin has been filled at least one time. As of Friday, the bin only had two toys.

“So we’re definitely looking for some more, and some cash donations,” Teller Coordinator Melissa Karge said.

The bank is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Whenever somebody donates, their name goes on an ornament and it hangs on the tree at the bank.

“We’re hoping to fill up that tree,” Karge said.

Toys for Tots also has bins at Drs. Elrod, Green & Hyland, Shopko, Runnings, and SEMA Equipment. According to Gunnery Sergeant Vince Reynolds—organizer for the Southeast Minnesota campaign— Toys for Tots has served 12,000 kids throughout Southeast Minnesota, with over 26,000 toys. There are over 700 campaigns around the nation.

“I want to thank the people for their support, this whole program runs on people’s generosity,” Reynolds said.

More holiday donations include:

—The Austin Area Learning Center Shoe Drive is accepting shoes through Dec. 15. They are collecting gently worn, used shoes to raise funds for MAAPS Stars and to benefit micro-enterprise ventures in developing countries, as well as to keep old shoes out of landfills. All donated shoes will be redistributed to micro-enterprise partners through Funds2Orgs and used to give people the opportunity to feed, clothe and house their families. The goal is to collect 7,500 pairs of shoes. For more information, call Eliza Kelly at 507-460-1800 or email her at eliza.kelly@austin.k.12.mn.us. Shoes cab be dropped off at Austin High School between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or in the drop-off bin at the Austin YMCA.

—The Austin Area Harry Potter Alliance is holding a Winter Clothing Dobby Drive, collecting new or gently used outerwear for both adults and children in the community. Coats, hats, mittens, scarves, snow pants, blankets, and warm socks are all greatly appreciated. Donations will be distributed through the Welcome Center. Donations can be dropped off at the Austin Public Library through Dec. 19. For more information, call 507-433-2391.

—The Boy Scouts will be selling Christmas trees in the Dairy Queen Parking Lot in Austin. They will be there through Dec. 20, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 12 to 7 p.m. on weekends.