Nov 29, 2008 11:19 pm US/Eastern
Charities Receive Fewer Donations Due To Economy
BALTIMORE (CBS) ―
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While cash is being spent, it isn't being donated.
AP
People have already started their holiday shopping. While cash is being spent, it isn't being donated, CBS station WJZ-Tv reported.
Jessica Kartalija reports charities are getting hit especially hard in a sluggish economy.
This weekend, thousands will shop until they drop. But in a sluggish economy, charities like the Salvation Army are having to help more Americans.
"We had a Thanksgiving feeding in the Hampden area and made hot meals to take out on our Feed-More Canteen, which we feed to folks who are homeless and living on the streets," said Major Roger Coulson, with the Salvation Army.
Charities typically receive up to 30 percent of their annual giving during the holiday season. For the Salvation Army, donations are down 20 percent.
"We are beginning to see, as time wears on, that what we raised last year was $500,000. We're looking to raise $600,000 and that's looking kind of difficult," Coulson said.
At the Maryland Food Bank, shelves are empty.
"The message is that the need in our community is at an all-time high, that the Food Bank is working very, very hard to keep up with need. The food that we see coming into the warehouse, almost immediately, it's going out," said Deborah Flateman, the Food Bank's CEO.
Demand for food is at an all-time high. The Food Bank is up one million pounds in distribution than last year.
"In the past, we used to have on hand a million and a half pounds of food at any given time -- most of it donated food. Now we have less than a million pounds in the racks and 60 percent of it is food that we purchased. It's not donated food," Flateman said.
Hoping that no one will be turned away, charities are asking that the next time you spend, remember those in need.
Last year, charities received $306 billion nationwide. That number is expected to drop by $8 to $10 billion this year.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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