The sounds of Christmas bells will be in the air starting with two tree lightings planned for the weekend of December 3 and December 4.

The holiday sounds will then continue the weekends of December 10-11 and 17-18 when Salvation Army bell ringers set up at locations around town.

Red kettles will be at the following Newtown locations: Bagel Delight, Bottle Stop, Dunkin Donuts, Newtown General Store, Stop & Shop, Walgreens, and Yankee Wine.

Who Gets Helped

The local unit of the Salvation Army, in partnership with the Town of Newtown Human Services Department, addresses emergency needs of Newtown residents. Of the funds raised from the Newtown Salvation Army Red Kettle collections, 90% of that money stays in Newtown to help those in need of assistance.

Approximately 20 million Americans don’t have enough food to eat right now. Food shortages for those in need continue to climb, causing families to make tough choices: Rent payment or dinner tonight? Car repairs or lunch money? This is a local problem that affects our neighbors in Newtown.

To address this, the national Salvation Army provided food during the COVID-19 pandemic to the Human Services Department with weekly deliveries of perishable and non-perishable goods to distribute in town.

During 2020-21, the Human Services Department has seen a growing need for assistance paying oil and electric bills, rent and other housing payments in addition to food, clothing, medical assistance, and auto expenses. In partnership with The Salvation Army, however, families and individuals will always have their basic needs addressed.

As a result of the local Salvation Army’s “Christmas in July” collection, the Salvation Army was able to assist the Human Services Department help Newtown families buy back-to-school supplies and back-to-school clothing for their children. The local schools were also a big help in identifying the needs of these families.

Most recently, a local family was displaced due to a fire in their home, and they had to move to a hotel for several nights. The funds raised this December from the Red Kettle collections by the local Salvation Army funds will be used to pay for the cost of the hotel stay.

The Human Services Department has already seen a growing need for assistance paying oil and electric bills due the recent escalation of oil and gas prices. This adds further importance on our December 2021 campaign.

Last year the Newtown Salvation Army unit was given a matching award of over $7,000 from the Divisional HQ because Newtown’s was one of very few local units to hold a Red Kettle collection during COVID. The local chapter and its bell ringing volunteers extend their thanks to everyone who participated and donated.

The matching award plus the funds raised in kettle collections and local donations allowed the Newtown chapter to provide over $17,000 in funds to help over 83 Newtown families when they needed it.

How To Help

The local Salvation Army chapter needs help from the public in the form of time and money.

For those who can spare an hour to ring during the weekends of December 10-11 and 17-18 visit bit.ly/2021bells to register directly.

Registration requests can also be done through Newtown Salvation Army Unit President Glenn Nanavaty at 203-788-2762 or gnanavaty@ndswcpa.com to volunteer.

For those who do not have time to ring, donations are also needed.

Donations can be mailed to Newtown Salvation Army c/o Newtown Center for Support and Wellness, 28 Trades Lane, Newtown CT 06470; texted to 71777; and of course the traditional route: drop a donation into a Red Kettle when they are out in town this season.