Breakfast begins Salvation Army’s red kettle program

Now in its seventh year, the Glendale Salvation Army’s red kettle kickoff breakfast on Friday morning again raised additional funds for programs that directly help the city’s most in need.

In the coming weeks, holiday shoppers can expect to soon see the familiar red kettles with accompanying bell ringers asking for donations at about 19 locations starting the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve.

“The red kettle campaign is the most exciting part of the year for the Salvation Army,” said Yasmin Beers, Glendale’s assistant city manager. “It brings us such a sense of joy to see students, service clubs, community members and Salvation Army staff come together for this tremendous cause.”

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Members of the Glendale community, including Mayor Paula Devine, City Council members, local law enforcement officers and representatives from the chamber of commerce, were invited to the Civic Auditorium for the kickoff breakfast, where attendees were asked to place donations into a red kettle at the center of their tables.

The morning event raised more than $40,000. Last year, the breakfast raised $41,000, which brought the total kettle donations for 2015 to roughly $98,000. One La Cañada Flintridge resident last year dropped a $5,000 check into a Salvation Army kettle outside a grocery store.

“People already know about the Salvation Army, but this event brings people together from the community to remind them of what good our organization does,” said Marlin Galvez, office manager for the Salvation Army’s Glendale Corps. “It also kind of kicks off the Christmas spirit in the city.”

The charity relies on money collected during the holiday season to help fund its programs throughout the year. These include a free after-school program, a food pantry that serves approximately 1,200 families a month and Meals on Wheels.

The kettle kickoff began with an invocation, breakfast, remarks from Salvation Army officials and later a short performance by “drummer boy” Mathijs Arens.

“We believe good things happen [at the Salvation Army], and we are thankful for all the support because it helps us ensure that those good things continue to happen,” said Lt. Jessica Sneed, who oversees the nonprofit as executive director.

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Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda