WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - A mingling crowd celebrated the Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle Kickoff.

Josh Morales says the night is about giving back.

“This is our way of saying thank you to those who play a big part in the Salvation Army’s operations here in Watertown,” said Captain Josh Morales.

The Red Kettles are synonymous with the holiday season. With the federal government shutdown, Morales says the need is greater than ever.

“We have seen an uptick in clients just in the month of October, and now we have our monthly numbers. We served 106 families, which is up from our average of about 50 a month, so that’s twice as many people, which means twice as much food,” said Captain Morales.

“Probably going to end up doing close to 2,000 meals on Thanksgiving. That doesn’t include

See Full Page