Longboat Red Kettle drive hits top spot again

It took 106 volunteers and about a month of volunteering, but the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key came out on top.

For its annual mission to raise money for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign, the Kiwanis Club reached out to various organizations on Longboat and asked for additional volunteers.

The positive response paid off.

When the final tallies were in, the Kiwanis Club had raised $19,508.47, making it the top Publix location once again.

In 2017, the club raised $15,291.63 and in 2016, it raised $14,037.43. Both times, the club was the top location.

Ed Krepela, who organized the volunteering this year, said this 2018 total is the most ever raised for the club.

Krepela said a few factors went into the success of this year.

“I think that in spite of the antics in Washington and the crazy swinging in the stock market, folks feel good about the economy and are more upbeat,” he said.

In addition to the generous spirit Krepela said Longboat residents tend to have, this year, an anonymous donor agreed to match every $20 bill that was donated in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

To gather the 106-volunteer army, Krepela first reached out to his fellow Kiwanis members. From there, he asked local groups, such as Christ Church, the Longboat Key Garden Club, Rotary Club and Democratic and Republican clubs.

Word traveled to Cortez, Krepela said. One day, he got a call from a Coast Guard member stationed in Cortez who asked if he could volunteer.

It’s those kinds of encounters that made this year a successful one, he said. 

“The most important factor is that it was an all-out effort,” Krepela said.