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One of the Ozarks’ main charitable organizations says donations are the lowest they’ve been in 12 years. KSMU's Jennifer Moore reports.
Victory Mission runs a variety of programs to meet the needs of Missourians living in poverty.
Executive director Jim Harriger says last year at this time, donations were 53% higher than they are right now, and that Victory Mission is seeing more people who need assistance.
He didn’t know what to attribute the decline in donations to.
“Is it the economy? Possibly. Is it Haiti? Sure. Maybe it’s the volcano in Iceland—I don’t know, totally. I just know that they are down,” he said.
Harriger also says Victory Mission has tightened its own belt by cutting its expenses 14.5 percent in the past year.
“We have cut staff. We’ve changed our purchasing. We’ve cut utilities. We operate our vehicles differently. And just along the way, we’ve been able to squeeze that out of our budget. The next piece of squeezing will come from cuts that will affect programs, education, [and] the help that we give into the community,” he said.
Victory Mission’s programs include lifting families out of poverty through offering life skills and trade classes, running the Cook’s Kettle Restaurant, operating a thrift store and overseeing a recycling center. It also provides immediate relief to families and individuals in need of clothing, food, and counseling.
For more information, you can visit www.victorymission.com.
For KSMU News, I'm Jennifer Moore
