Chicago’s Salvation Army received its first gold coin donations, valued at more than $10,000, this Christmas season last week, the group said on Tuesday.
The charity group’s annual Red Kettle campaign at Daley Plaza’s Christkindlmarket received a total of eight gold coins in two donations on Nov. 26. The donations include a 1-ounce U.S. gold coin, valued at more than $4,000, and seven other coins valued at about $1,000 each.
The Salvation Army said all Red Kettle donations stay local, and the gold coins will support the group’s Chicago Temple Corps on the city’s Near West Side.
“These gold coins will help us fund the services that help people in Chicago all year long,” said Corp Officer Matthew Manley. “We hope the generosity of these donors will be matched many times over this Christmas season.”
The anonymous donation of gold coins and other small valuables like rings and jewelry to the red kettles has become a nationwide tradition.
Chicago’s Salvation Army said last year an anonymous Evanston woman made an estate gift to the group that included 17 U.S. gold coins valued at $40,000.
Chicago-area red kettles have received several gold coins in recent years. Gold coin donations have also been reported in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California and other states.
The Red Kettle campaign dates back to 1871, when San Francisco’s Salvation Army began using a pot to collect donations to fund Christmas meals for the community.