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By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer
As we approach the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, we know we will hear the ringing bell and see the Angle Trees of the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army raises funds to help those in need with their Red Kettle collections. They also sponsor the Angel Tree program, where individuals may choose a registered “angel” and purchase gifts of new clothing and toys for them. The gifts are distributed to the families in time to place them under the family’s Christmas tree.
If anybody needs assistance during the holidays or would like to sign up a child who lives in Washington County for the Angel Tree, they can call 812-883-1637.
The Red Kettle fundraising campaign will begin Saturday, Nov. 27, and runs through Tuesday, Dec. 24. The bell ringing hours are Friday – Saturday 10 a.m.—6 p.m. and Mondays -Thursdays 4-8 p.m. There are no Sunday shifts.
Ringers can be individuals, organizations, families, churches, school groups, 4-H groups or scout groups. To join in, please call Meredith Peters at 812-620-5835 as early as possible.
This year, as in years past, the red kettle will be set up at both doors at the Salem Walmart.
How the Red Kettle Campaign Began
General Booth founded the Salvation Army in 1865 on the east side of London. This area was filled with poverty, a lot of recent immigrants, drunkards, prostitutes and orphans. It was hard to say that there was a loving God out there when so many hungry and cold. So, the concept came up of soup, souls and salvation.
To accomplish that goal funds were needed. The kettle collection was started in San Francisco in 1891 after a Salvation Captain Joseph McFee promised to feed 1,000 destitute people near Fishman’s Wharf.
His idea was to set up an old lobster pot for collections, and he came up with the slogan “Keep the pot boiling.” He met his goal and collected enough money to feed the people.
The bell ringing began in 1900 with a teenaged volunteer in New York City named Amelia Kunkel. She was frustrated that so many bankers bypassed her and ignored her fundraising efforts. She went to Woolworth’s Department Store and bought a small bell for ten cents. The bell ringing became an established tradition for the Red Kettle program that continues today.