Local Hy-Vee store honored for role in Salvation Army campaign

Hy-Vee workers donned Christmas-theme costumes, stood outside the store in the wintry weather and rang a bell to help raise money for people in need.  Those bell-ringing efforts helped raise funds as part of the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign late last year. The bell-ringing work also earned the Hy-Vee store at 4064 E. 53rd […]

Hy-Vee workers donned Christmas-theme costumes, stood outside the store in the wintry weather and rang a bell to help raise money for people in need.  Those bell-ringing efforts helped raise funds as part of the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign late last year. The bell-ringing work also earned the Hy-Vee store at 4064 E. 53rd St., Davenport, a unique honor. For the second straight year, that store was presented with the Salvation Army’s Traveling Trophy award for winning a friendly competition between nine area Hy-Vee stores. The 53rd Street store raised the most money among its sister stores during a four-hour period from 3-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5.

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“You did it with joy and fun. … But the real winner in this competition was the community,” Gary Alden, board chairman for The Salvation Army of the Quad Cities, said during a brief award presentation ceremony Tuesday morning, Jan. 14, at the winning store. That ceremony featured about 15 members of the Hy-Vee management team and Salvation Army officials who gathered in the store’s produce section. During that timed competition in early December, the nine Hy-Vee stores raised a total of about $2,200. The 53rd Street store topped the other stores by raising almost $400 during the event, Mr. Alden said during Tuesday's award presentation. The award honors the Hy-Vee store’s “fearless competition” and its dedication to “true volunteerism,” according to the inscription on the plaque. “It’s just a lot of fun when you can get together with your co-workers and help people,” said Dorrie Decker, Hy-Vee’s district store director. “The Salvation Army of the QCA goal is to reduce homelessness, food insecurity and help cure hunger in the community.  In the past four months, 2,697 people have been served through just our food pantry in Scott County,” according to information from local Salvation Army organization. Local Salvation Army officials kicked off this year’s Red Kettle campaign during a ceremony on Nov. 8. Of the local campaign’s 40 kettle sites, 24 were in Iowa and 16 in Illinois and many were located outside Hy-Vee stores.  The Red Kettle Campaign – the oldest annual charitable fundraiser of its kind in the U.S. – helps raise money for those in need in the community. Money raised provides toys for kids, coats for homeless people, food for the hungry and many social service programs.  This season’s local Red Kettle campaign goal was $700,000. That number is actually smaller than in some past years. For instance, in 2022, the Salvation Army Quad Cities had a goal of raising $770,000 during the campaign. This season’s financial goal is smaller because of the many unknown factors about the local economy and how it is impacting people who may donate money, said Major Lucy Gates, Quad Cities area coordinator for The Salvation Army, during the November ceremony. Even though the bell-ringing activities are done, the Red Kettle Campaign actually goes through the end of January. The final results are expected to be announced in February, Mr. Alden said.