To the Editor:

The Salvation Army’s December 2019 campaign included five days of ringing by our volunteers and raised almost $13,000. Ninety percent of all donations will stay in Newtown and are administered by Newtown’s Human Services Department to assist those in need in our Newtown community.

We thank our many volunteers for ringing again this year and also thank the businesses in town that allowed us to ring. Those businesses were Bagel Delight, Bottle Stop, Dunkin’ Donuts, The General Store, Pizza Palace, Stop & Shop, Walgreens, Yankee Wine & Spirits, and at the Sandy Hook Christmas Tree Lighting. Without their cooperation, ringing would not be possible.

Each year, elected officials in town graciously take time to ring for the Salvation Army and to greet the public during the holiday season. This year, we thank First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, Selectman Maureen Crick Owen, Former First Selectman Pat Llodra, State Representative Mitch Bolinsky, and State Senator Tony Hwang. The Newtown Lions Club and the Newtown Congregational Church each ring one Saturday at Stop & Shop. It is very helpful when a local group takes over a complete shift and coordinates all of the volunteer effort. We would love it if other organizations in town would consider participating in this effort. We do have more equipment and could increase our collections if we can get more groups included in our local kettle collection. Lastly, we also would like to encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about what we do and participate in helping with the kettle collection to contact us.

Thank you from the Newtown Salvation Army Committee.

Glenn J. Nanavaty, President

Newtown / Bethel Unit — Salvation Army

104 Boggs Hill Road, Newtown December 30, 2019