<p>Eric Cox: Jingle bells and red kettles have returned. The Salvation Army's kicking off its 2021 Christmas fundraising campaign across Aurora, but the charity organization's hoping for more help after seeing a huge drop off of bell ringers last year.<br /><br />Capt. Joaquin Rangel: It was very, very hard to get either volunteers or even paid workers to help us with our campaign during Christmas.<br /><br />Eric Cox: Captain Joaquin Rangel runs the nonprofit's Aurora Corps. He and his wife, Gabriella, have served us Salvation Army officers for 15 years, but this past year has been unlike any other.<br /><br />Gabriella Rangel: In one word: crazy.<br /><br />Eric Cox: The Rangels say last Christmas, several bell ringers canceled because of COVID 19 concerns. As a result, Salvation Army's Aurora Corps fell $15,000 short of their fundraising goal, money sorely missed with 70% of yearly donations coming in during the holiday season.<br /><br />Capt. Joaquin Rangel: Somehow, we survived last year. We're hoping and praying that this year it'll be different.<br /><br />Speaker 4: We are committed to following all CDC and local guidelines.<br /><br />Eric Cox: Salvation Army's shifting to alternative volunteer efforts, offering bell ringers a contactless and hopefully, safer experience.<br /><br />Capt. Joaquin Rangel: Two hours, four hours of volunteer makes a big difference.<br /><br />Eric Cox: For donors, the nonprofits coming up with creative ways to give including QR codes on kettles, and new this year, supporters can even donate via Venmo and PayPal.<br /><br />Gabriella Rangel: We have learned to make changes so that we can make the best of what we have.<br /><br />Eric Cox: Captain Rangel says here in Aurora the need for food and financial assistance more than double during the height of the pandemic.<br /><br />Capt. Joaquin Rangel: They really have to make a decision to either pay their utility bills or buy food, and it's been a challenge.<br /><br />Eric Cox: So far in 2021, his team served 548 families with food and handed out over $112,000 in rent and utility assistance, but the need right now is greater than what they can give, unless more support is received.<br /><br />Gabriella Rangel: We know that the need is not going to go away, so everybody can make a difference.<br /><br />Capt. Joaquin Rangel: This pandemic changed their lives completely. Completely. And if you help us to help them, it will make a big difference<br /><br />Eric Cox: With another challenging holiday season ahead, the Aurora Corps' target fundraising amount is the same as 2020, $150,000. The theme for this year's campaign?<br /><br />Capt. Joaquin Rangel: Hope marches on. That means we continue on with all the challenges that we have, but we do have faith that with the help of the community and the support of so many people, we can continue on helping the people in need this year.<br /><br />Eric Cox: The Rangels say if you give, it will benefit someone right here in Aurora, the donations going directly into local programs, and for anyone interested in giving either money or donating their time to volunteering, please visit talkingcities.com for more details. For Talking Cities Aurora, I'm Eric Cox.</p>