Salvation Army Aims To Reach The Goal For Christmas
Volunteers spend hours, days and weeks-ringing bells-and raising money for the Salvation Army.
Every bell ringer has their own reason for help out. For some, it’s simply about giving back.
“This is my fourth year doing this and I just do it like my kids are not around I like doing this making people smile that’s what it’s all about,†said bell ringer Ramon Jeters.
Other people consider it a family tradition. †It feels good to me its something that I’ve always cherished and my grandmother donated to them before she passed so did my mom and both of my uncles,†said Vickie Byrne.
The annual Red Kettle Campaign helps the organization raise money to help local families around the holidays.
“The kettles started in the 1890s the Salvation Army captain out in San Fransisco was trying to raise some money so that he could feed the homeless people for Christmas day.
He had originally been from England and they sat a kettle out at the docks as the boats would come in and the guys would get paid and they would through some money into the kettle,†said Salvation Army Officer Mark Turner.
This year the local organization set a goal of 270,000 dollars by Christmas Day. As of Monday morning, they were already at 255,000 dollars. Many people will get a little extra help around the holidays because of the kindness of those in the Tri-State.
†You can see how much good they do, you can actually see the impact that they have on the community and the fact that they are there when things go wrong that’s what the Salvation Army is especially in the holidays the toy drives and the donations and helping all the families,†said Nicole Metz.
