The holiday question is, “Do Christmas shoppers hear what the Salvation Army hears?”

When volunteer bell ringers ring their bells, it is an invitation from the Salvation Army Austin Corps to help the needy.

This Christmas season, there are more needy in the history of the Salvation Army Austin Corps than ever before: 610 families, 1,018 children.

“Every family, every child will get something for Christmas,” said Major Marlys Anderson, officer in charge of the Austin Corps.

No “ifs, buts” or “maybes.”

Simply a pledge.

There are many other individual efforts throughout the greater Austin community to help the needy:

Hormel Foods Corporation and its flagship plant, Quality Pork Processors, Inc., the Mower County Department of Human Services, Toys For Tots and Feed A Family. The list is lengthy, but nobody does more for the needy than the Salvation Army.

The Austin Corps began the 2008 Christmas Appeal with a goal to raise $105,000; $40,900 from its Red Kettle campaign alone. With three days to go until Christmas Day, how is that campaign doing?

“It’s going to be hard to make our goal,” Anderson said Friday morning.

The officer in charge had just come from the Austin Post Office, where American Postal Workers Union Local 1080 presented her with a check for $500 for the Christmas Appeal fundraising campaign.

“Last night (Thursday), the Austin Lions presented us with a generous check for our Christmas Appeal, too,” Anderson said.

The Salvation Army’s direct mail campaign is lagging by $11,000 of its goal as of late last week.

The Red Kettle campaign is $3,500 behind its goal.

“It could be the economy. I don’t know what it is, but we’re behind in our Christmas Appeal,” she said.

There are other worries for the officer in charge.

“I’m very concerned about our toy drive for children and the Angel Tree at OakPark Mall,” she said. “We still have a lot of names on the Angel Tree, waiting to be adopted.”

“Going into the last weekend of Christmas shopping, we’re hoping people will respond, but that’s also a concern for all of us,” she said.

“We plan to distribute our Christmas presents to needy families Tuesday, and if we don’t get them before that date, it’s going to be a nightmare trying to sort them and get them to the children and their families,” she said.

Serving 610 families and 1,018 children seems like a daunting task this December. Cold weather and rising home heating expenses are but one of the financial challenges for families.

The economy continues to be stepped in worries about recession.

Everyone everywhere, it seems, is spending less on Christmas.

The requests for assistance are screened by Lori Blanton, the Salvation Army’s caseworker for social services. Blanton verifies the need is legitimate and not a duplicate of services received from another agency.

Still, the requests for assistance rose dramatically this year. “I don’t know why that is. All I know is that we’ve got more than we’ve ever had before,” Anderson said.

New projects are helping to relieve the stress on the Salvation Army to supply everything.

For instance, HyVee Food Store of Austin has its Feed A Family project, where a $10 donation will guarantee a traditional Christmas meal for needy families.

HyVee Food Store vendors are also participating to supply the food items.

“The Feed A Family project is really helping us to supply Christmas food baskets,” Anderson said. “We appreciate the help we get from everyone.”

With days and then only hours remaining until that most exciting of holidays, Anderson’s advice to shoppers is “Pick a name from the Angel Tree and help a child. Bring your new, unwrapped presents to the Angel Tree at the Mall as soon as possible and always consider donating to the bell ringers and their Red Kettles.”

The officer in charge is also the Austin Corps church minister, and she emphasizes the true meaning of Christmas over anything else.

“First, I would again like to say ‘Thank you’ to everyone for helping the Salvation Army in any way this season,” she said.

“People in Austin really care about people. We’re going to make it because of their generosity,” she said.

“Lastly, I would like to wish everyone ‘Merry Christmas’ and “Peace on earth’.”

For more information about assisting the Salvation Army, call volunteer coordinator Tammy Flicek at (507) 437-4566.

There are bell-ringing opportunities available at all seven Red Kettle campaign locations in Austin this week, according to Flicek.