Charitable crunch: Will economic downturn trickle down to Southeast Missouri charities during their most profitable time of year?

Local charities are facing the reality that cash-strapped donors don't have as much to give during this Christmas season.

"I'm very concerned with the local, regional and statewide government situations," says Major Ben Stillwell of the Cape Girardeau Salvation Army. "In the 28 months since I've worked here, this is the worst I've seen the economy locally. With all the foreclosures and the prices of gas and food,

I'd be dumb if I were not concerned."

He holds faith in the community, however, and notes that there hasn't been a year yet that the Salvation Army hasn't met its Christmas goal — although sometimes that goal is made up later in the year. According to Stillwell, last year's goal was $262,061, and this year's goal has been upped to $269,300. Most funds will come from kettles outside local businesses and mail-in donations.

"In my honest opinion, we have a very giving, positive, and very, very generous community," says Stillwell.

There are plenty of ways for people to give during the Christmas season, even when they don't have money to donate. The Salvation Army will need volunteers for projects like Coats for the Community, ringing bells, and serving and delivering Thanksgiving meals. Stillwell says last year 600

people came to the Thanksgiving meal on site, and an additional 400 had the meal delivered to their home.

"We couldn't do any of this without our volunteers," says Stillwell.

The local Habitat for Humanity has found a way to appeal to potential donors' money-saving needs to raised funds. Instead of going to mainstream retail stores, more shoppers are using the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to find quality goods at a lower price — a trend that actually puts the economic downturn in favor of Habitat, says executive director Walt Wildman.

"This is the place people turn to when they need to economize," explains Robin Cole, development committee chair and vice president of the board for Habitat.

The more business the store gets, the more funds are available to build Habitat homes for people in

need. While Cole says it's impossible to predict what will happen this season, there is one promising factor: Overall donations to Habitat have accelerated in the past 60 days.

"My hindsight is wonderful, but my foresight is questionable — but there's no indication yet that donations will slow down," says Cole. He adds that more people are renovating older homes, and they come to the ReStore for essentials like bathroom and kitchen fixtures. The store also has more

kitchen appliances than ever before. Even more, sales at the ReStore have increased every month since it opened in November 2007, and material donations continue to exceed sales.

"We're better stocked than we ever have been, and we've seen a modest increase in donations of excess and gently used materials," says Cole.

According to Jim Bequette, ReStore manager, the Cape Girardeau location is one of the most successful of over 500 stores nationwide. "Very few have turned enough profit to supply funds for housing," says Bequette. "I give all the credit to Cape and the surrounding areas."

Wildman adds that Habitat continues to build houses throughout the winter,and volunteers are always welcome.

"A volunteer giving a day of their time is worth a lot for us," says Wildman. "We put a lot of effort into volunteer recruitment."