THE SEASON OF GIVING: SNOW EQUALS SLOW FOR KETTLE DONATIONS

Donations to the Salvation Army's Tree of Lights fund-raising campaign are down by $8,000 compared to last year, and this week's foul weather may be the culprit.

Maj. Robert Gauthier of the Salvation Army said he is alarmed by the shortage of donations and is considering extending the kettle campaign to the week after Christmas.

"We've never had to do that before," he said. "The bad weather has just really taken its toll on us."

As of Friday afternoon, donations stood at $115,159. The Salvation Army's goal is $220,000, and Gauthier said that must be met to avoid decreasing organization's budget and cutting back on services.

"It's one of those scenarios we hope we don't have to look at," he said.

The week before Thanksgiving, donations were up by $2,000 over last year, Gauthier said. Since then, they have fallen behind steadily. Donations were behind by $285 the week after Thanksgiving, and by last week they were down by more than $2,000.

Compounding Gauthier's frustration is the fact that gas heating bills are significantly higher this winter, and he anticipates having numerous appeals for utility assistance in the spring.

Because utility companies seldom shut off heat for nonpayment during the winter months, some customers let past-due bills accumulate to amounts exceeding $500 by the time they are threatened with having service cut off. Those high amounts are difficult for assistance organizations such as the Salvation Army to come up with when customers seek help.

The Salvation Army has received a few large bills and checks in the kettles and in the mail, which Gauthier said has helped tremendously.

"Thursday, we had two checks for $100 apiece," he said. "That pulled us a little closer to what we had the year before. The only thing that's really saved us is a few large bills in the kettle or large checks."

Gauthier said he hopes the weather will be more cooperative next week and that shoppers will remember the Salvation Army kettles when they head to the stores and mall.

"Next week really is our biggest week on kettles," he said. "We usually take in $13,000, $14,000 that week. We hope that will be the pattern again this year."