The Salvation Army’s primary operation within the county has been its soup kitchen in Butler. It cost about $100,000 per year to operate and feeds around 750 individuals each weekday, according to The Salvation Army’s Western Pennsylvania division’s director of fundraising, Donna L. Fencik.
Fencik, in an article on Triblive.com said:
“United Way funding has declined over the years. This year they said will not fund the soup kitchen at all. We really do not know why.”
In response the Butler United Way’s executive director, Leslie Osche, said the United Way wants its funding to go to organizations that promote self-sufficiency, saying:
“We have not seen them working with other agencies to make referrals that will help people.”
The Butler Salvation Army chapter follows in the footsteps of the Westmoreland County Salvation Army, which dropped its affiliation with the United Way in July after its allotment was dropped over time from $300,000 in 2000 to $10,000 for this year.
The fundraising campaign will be undertaken by the Butler Salvation Army to offset the lost funds. A poster printing services could be of tremendous help with its ‘Feeding Families Campaign’, which has a goal of $50,000.