Mayor Talamantes helps Salvation Army ring in the season of giving
Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes helped the Salvation Army Burbank Corps kick off its red kettle campaign in front of Pavilions in Burbank on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016.
Donning a red apron and holding a small red bell in his hand, Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes stood in front of Pavilions on Monday to lead shoppers to a red kettle next to him.
The Salvation Army Burbank Corps kicked off its holiday fundraiser in front of the grocery store, with 11 donation kettles to be spread throughout the city to collect money that will pay for the services and programs the nonprofit provides.
“It’s a long-standing tradition in the city,” said Talamantes as he smiled and thanked passersby who dropped a few dollars into the kettle. “The city and community have been extremely supportive of it.”
The iconic red kettles, which are being placed in front of supermarkets across the city, will be available for donations until Christmas Eve.
A shopper drops a donation into a Salvation Army kettle in front of Pavilions in Burbank on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016.
Elaine Paonessa, a lifetime member of the Burbank Corps’ advisory board, said she was thrilled to see so many people putting donations in the kettle Monday morning.
“This is what sustains the Salvation Army,” she said. “The Salvation Army Corps [is] self-sustaining and [has] to support [itself]. All the funds go to all the people we care for.”
Paonessa, 89, who has been involved with the Burbank Corps for about 47 years and was named Woman of the Year in 2008 by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), has continued to devote time to the Salvation Army because she believes in what it does for the community.
She pointed out that “99% of your donations goes to the [Salvation] Army. You can’t find that with any other nonprofit.”
Burbank Corps Lt. Jeremy Baker, who has been with the nonprofit for about a year and a half, said that every donation helps fund the organization’s food pantry, its after-school programs and Thanksgiving dinners.
Baker, who served in the Marines, said he became involved with the organization because his family had volunteered for the Salvation Army, and he felt like it was time to contribute as well.
“I fell in love with the mission of the Salvation Army, the reason for its existence and the work that it does,” he said. “I knew after I finished my time in the military that this is what I needed to do.”
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
