WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA The final bell hasn't sounded for slumping kettle campaign

Eastwood and Southern Park malls have not been asked about an extension.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
PITTSBURGH -- Those familiar Salvation Army bell ringers who greet shoppers in the weeks leading up to Christmas may be hanging around a little longer than usual this year.
With donations at the kettles down, western Pennsylvania officials said that some bell ringers will be out in the days after Christmas to try and take advantage of the long holiday weekend.
Salvation Army officials in Warren and Youngstown could not be reached to comment as to their intentions.
Ken Kollar, manager of Eastwood Mall in Niles, said he didn't know if the SA's kettle campaign would continue there after Christmas but said mall management would welcome it.
At Southern Park Mall in Boardman, where the SA has two kettle locations, Sheryl Raulin, marketing director, said mall management hadn't been approached about an extension. However, she said, if SA officials wanted an extension, "I don't think that would be a problem."
"I think the malls have been busy and the stores have been busy, but I think some of the gifts have been smaller," said Capt. William Bamford, the Salvation Army's general secretary and Allegheny County coordinator.
Donations down
In western Pennsylvania, donations are about $143,000 behind last year's total of $1.5 million. Bamford said the poor economy might be a factor, as well as the flu outbreak that has meant fewer volunteers to work outside at the kettles.
Bamford said there are several bell ringers who have volunteered to work past Christmas, which has traditionally marked the end of the kettle campaign.
Randall Thomas, spokesman for the Salvation Army in Philadelphia, said donations there have also been running behind last year's totals. He said unusually cold and snowy weather has probably been a factor in keeping people away.
There aren't any plans, though, to keep bell ringers out beyond Christmas.
"If it turns out that we don't reach the goal that we've previously set, we may send out an additional mail appeal," Thomas said.
Shortage of ringers
In Minneapolis, the Twin Cities chapter of the Salvation Army had trouble finding enough volunteer bell ringers. The shortage has put the nonprofit group in jeopardy of losing $150,000 in donations raised in the Twin Cities.
The same is true in the Atlanta area, where the Salvation Army's kettle collections are down about 7 percent from last year.
William "Doc" Holiday was working his 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. bell-ringing shift outside Pittsburgh's Gateway Center subway stop Wednesday, the second year in a row at the spot since he volunteered through the city's North Side chapter.
Holiday said donations are down -- he doesn't know by how much -- so he agreed to "come out early" and man a kettle for an eight-hour shift instead of the four-hour stints he originally requested to accommodate his 71-year-old knees.
"Things are slow this year. One day it's OK, and the next day it's slow," said Holiday, who began bell ringing Dec. 19 this year.
Online contributions
People who want to contribute, but don't want to give at the kettles, can also contribute online through the charity's "Cyber Kettle" program. Contributions can be made at www.salvationarmy-wpa.org.
Bamford said he wants people to know that all money collected through the kettle campaigns is used locally. The money helps provide food, clothing and utility assistance to needy residents, he said.