Salvation Army officials say holiday giving this Christmas season, despite the threat of economic hard times, has been equivalent to previous years.

“So far we haven’t experienced a downturn,” said Barry Bertelsen, treasurer for the Salvation Army’s La Crosse County Service Extension Unit.

“We’re expecting to have more need this winter, but our area is kind of blessed. There haven’t been any big company closures here and the unemployment rate has been holding fairly steady,” Bertelsen said.

The Extension Unit services outlying areas of La Crosse County — places like Holmen, Bangor, West Salem and Melrose-Mindoro. Donations are collected from bell ringers at Festival Foods in Holmen and the Hansen’s IGA stores in West Salem and Bangor.

The Bangor bell ringers are National Honor Society students who volunteer their hours. They are coordinated by science teacher Sue Adams.

“It is meaningful for these kids to donate their time to those in need,” Adams said. “It’s a great cause, and I hope people will drop something into the kettle.”

Adams added that the first week’s total was about where it usually was. A similar assessment was made by Helen Harold of West Salem who coordinates volunteers from four churches — Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, St. Leo the Great Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church of West Salem — who staff the kettle at Hansen’s IGA in West Salem.

“The donations have been good so far, and we haven’t seen a dropoff in the first weeks,” Harold said. “In fact, we were giving Care Bears to anyone who gave $5 or more. Many people didn’t take the bears even though they contributed more than $5.”

Bertelsen said he is grateful to all the volunteer help the Salvation Army Extension Unit is receiving. “We have 220 hours of scheduled bell ringing and we’ve got a nice problem: we’ve got more volunteers than we have time slots.”

Bertelsen noted that holiday giving typically follows a predictable pattern. It starts strong before a lull sets in, then finishes up strong.

“People tend to be generous the first time they walk by a bell ringer, but then we’ll get a lull in the middle of December. Then we’ll usually finish strong when people really get in the spirit as Christmas approaches. Christmas Eve is usually our best day,” he said.

Money raised by the Salvation Army helps the truly needy with food, transportation, gasoline, prescriptions, rent and utilities. “People know it’s a good organization that uses the money to help those in need locally,” Bertelsen said.

Harold also emphasized that any funds donated to the Salvation Army will stay in the community where they are given. “It’s a nice thing to know that the money will be used in the community,” she said.

Given today’s discouraging economic climate, Bertelsen said he believes the need for help will eventually be greater than ever this winter. Adams suggested that awareness of that fact might be the reason givers have continued to be generous.

“I think maybe that people who are able to give a little more are doing so,” she said.