The Salvation Army’s jingling bells and red kettles are back for another year of collecting donations around Johnson County.
The Red Kettle campaign launched Thanksgiving Day and runs through Christmas Eve. The annual fundraiser helps millions nationwide around the holidays, including many people locally in Johnson County.
Donations locally are a bit behind compared to last year, said Todd Poindexter, director of the program in Johnson County. But he expects to still meet the local goal by Christmas. So far, the Salvation Army has raised $69,916, which puts them a little over halfway to their goal of $120,000.
“We did have the last couple of days that were pretty good. So, we’re hoping they’re kind of rebounding and getting back on track,” Poindexter said.
New to the Red Kettle this year is a system to pay with a credit card or virtual wallet at physical kettle locations. Each kettle has a sign on top of it, where people can scan their cards or virtual wallet to give a donation of $5, $10 or $20. This adds more options for people who do not carry cash or change.
All donations collected here are kept in the community, Poindexter said. The money is used to help a number of local residents with needs such as rent and utility assistance, food assistance and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Finding bell ringers has also been a challenge this year, he said. Bell ringers are typically a mix of volunteers and paid ringers, but both have been hard to come by this year. Poindexter said the challenge is similar to what all employers are facing with labor shortages post-pandemic.
“It’s just it’s just been tough the last couple of years to retain workers,” he said.
There is still time to become a bell ringer, for those interested. People can sign up to volunteer by visiting the Salvation Army’s website, registertoring.com.
Bell ringers can be found around the county, standing outside various stores including Walmart, Kroger, Hobby Lobby, Sam’s Club and the Greenwood Park Mall. The Salvation Army has 12 ringers employed to work around Johnson County daily, and a rotation of around 20 volunteers.
At Hobby Lobby in Franklin, Alexis Hellman was enthusiastic about ringing in donations for the Red Kettle Campaign for the first time this year. She stood outside, bundled up, greeting people with a smile and saying “have a blessed day” as they walked out of the store.
Hellman is a paid bell ringer, but she also sees this as a way to give back. In her hometown in Montana, her stepdad used to host a similar charity to help buy toys for local children for Christmas.
She also has a personal connection to the Salvation Army.
“For a couple years in Montana also I signed up for this to give my kids good at Christmas,” Hellman said.
Hellman has a passion for nonprofit work, and hopes to someday open a food truck to give out free meals to people in need.
At Walmart in Franklin, Cody Long is also bell ringing to help give back to the Salvation Army, which helped him a lot growing up. He volunteers every year, but this year he decided to take the paid full-time bell ringer position, just to make some extra money.
“I’ve gone there since I was a kid, going to camps, and I’ve been helped by them all the time, so I figured it’s time to give back,” Long said.
Ralph Shepherd is a paid bell ringer for the first time this year. He was posted up at another entrance at the Franklin Walmart, greeting people as they walked inside and outside.
He decided to bell ring because it was “something to do” and it is for a good cause. He likes helping the Salvation Army out, and he doesn’t mind standing outside in the cold.
“Even if I wasn’t getting paid, I’d still do it. I’m getting social security right now, and I don’t make a lot, so this helps me out a little bit and it helps them out,” Shepherd said. “It was something to try out. I might do it again next year.”
HOW TO HELP
Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign
Donate
Visit a nearby Kroger, Walmart, Hobby Lobby or the Greenwood Park Mall.
Donate online at give.salvationarmyusa.org
Volunteer
Sign up to be a bell ringer at registertoring.com
