It’s feast and famine at charities

Though the economy remains lousy and Las Vegans continue to struggle, some local charities are trying to look on the bright side this holiday season.

Valley residents and businesses have been giving more to make sure their neighbors don't go without this year, said Bob Brunner, executive director of the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.

"People in Las Vegas are pretty generous by nature," he said. "They know things are tough for them, so they relate to things being tough for other people, too. They think, 'It's tough all over. Maybe I can give a little more.' "

Brunner said donations to the mission are up about 10 percent from last year. The uptick in giving is especially helpful this time of year, when charities go through immense quantities of food and other supplies to make the holidays a little cheerier for the valley's neediest residents.

The mission gave away 1,400 turkeys on Saturday and plans to provide a traditional turkey dinner to 1,500 people beginning at 5 p.m. today in its dining hall at 480 W. Bonanza Road.

Julie Murray, president and CEO of Three Square Food Bank, said the bank is on track to distribute 20 million pounds of food this year to 290 agencies that feed the needy. That's a record for the organization and 3 million pounds more than last year.

People might not be able to contribute much these days, but small donations quickly add up, Murray said. One man even came by the food bank to donate his rolls of coins.

"Never before have I seen the community come together like it is today," she said. "At times like these, we feel uplifted by the giving."

The food bank hopes to distribute 14,000 turkeys this holiday season through its Fight Holiday Hunger program. That is up from 13,000 last year.

"We're working hard because some of our agency partners are really struggling to keep up with the need for food," Murray said.

Other local charities haven't fared as well this year and are struggling from a dearth of donations -- especially monetary donations -- in the down economy.

"It's very, very slow," Salvation Army spokesman Charles Desiderio said. "Not only are turkeys and hams not coming in, but money donations are terribly behind."

The charity hopes to make up some of that during its annual Red Kettle campaign, launched Saturday.

But "you can't walk by a red kettle and throw money in it if you just got fired," Desiderio said. "There are more people in need,but less money to serve them."

The Salvation Army will host its regular Thanksgiving meal for the needy from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday at its downtown campus, 35 W. Owens Ave. The charity is expecting about 400 diners.

Circus Circus also is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at the Salvation Army starting at 3 p.m. today .

Monetary donations to The Shade Tree have decreased so much that the shelter for women and children has spent more than it took in for the second year in a row, said Marlene Richter, executive director. The lack of funding might lead to some uncomfortable decisions.

"We're having conversations like, 'Well, do we start charging people?' We never charge people," Richter said.

The shelter is typically full and, because jobs are so hard to come by lately, women are staying longer than usual.

"They're so discouraged," Richter said. "When they do find work, it's not full-time at a living wage. That's our biggest hurdle."

The Shade Tree's residents will head to the nearby Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada campus for Thanksgiving dinner, Richter said. The latter charity, at 1501 Las Vegas Blvd. North, plans to serve a traditional holiday meal to about 2,500 people starting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The Excalibur and Luxor also teamed up Tuesday to provide a Thanksgiving meal for the needy at Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities, which began serving Thanksgiving dinners to the needy more than four decades ago, usually receives plenty of turkey and other food donations during the holidays but is still struggling to meet the increased need this year, said Leslie Carmine, a spokeswoman for the charity.

"A couple of days ago we thought we were going to be short of turkeys, but at the moment we're OK," she said.

Catholic Charities gave away more than 2,000 turkeys on Saturday. Several hundred more turkeys are prepared for the annual Thanksgiving meal.

What the charity really needs is donations of toiletries, jackets and shoes, Carmine said. And donations of money are always welcome.

"Because of our position, we can purchase in bulk and make dollars stretch more than regular donors," she said.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.