ROSEMOUNT, Minn., Dec. 1 (UPI) — The Salvation Army announced that a Minnesota couple dropped a $500,000 check into a donation kettle, breaking the regional record for a single kettle donation.
The couple dropped the check into a kettle Saturday outside the Cub Foods store in Rosemount.
“We have been in touch with the donors, but they want to remain anonymous,” Salvation Army spokeswoman Julie Borgen told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “This couple has supported the Army before with large checks in kettles, but never anything close to this level.”
The Salvation Army said the previous record for a single donation in a Twin Cities-area kettle was $25,000, with kettle bell-ringers typically bringing in about $30 per hour.
Borgen said the couple notified the Salvation Army’s major-gifts manager prior to the donation, so he was able to pick the kettle up in person. The check cleared Monday.
The couple said they wanted to inspire generosity in others and honor the father of one of them, a World War I veteran who was especially fond of the Salvation Army “doughnut lassies,” who brought coffee and doughnuts to the soldiers.
The Twin Cities Salvation Army is aiming to raise $11.6 million this holiday season. The charity has thus far brought in about $2.2 million.
