The Sounds of the Season: Salvation Army Bells Ring to Raise Money for Those in Need
Pat Atkins volunteers her time by ringing a bell for the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Drive in front of Bearly Quilting in the junction, one of the four kettle locations in Tuolumne County.
Story and photos by Thomas Atkins
There is no better reminder of what the Christmas season is all about than the sight of a bright red kettle and the clear crisp sound of a bell from a Salvation Army volunteer. Resounding over the hustle and bustle of the holiday confusion, the bells can bring clarity to those who have wandered from the heart of the season’s main purpose – to give. This simple action, which was so beautifully demonstrated at the birth of Christmas so long ago, is repeated over and over again through the joy of caring and sharing with those less fortunate than themselves. One of the main organizations leading the way in this wintry season quest is the Salvation Army, donating millions of dollars each year to aid needy families, seniors, and the homeless. Today the traditional red kettles and “bell ringers” have become an integral part of the Christmas scene and are a common sight on street corners and in front of stores and shops. In Tuolumne County these bells have been echoing within its town’s for nearly twenty years – ringing out a reminder to the community and singing a song to a charitable spirit.
“Our county is very generous,” said Peggy DuTemple, chairperson of the Sonora Service Extension Unit of the Salvation Army. “We raise a lot of money with our fundraiser every year – and every year we raise more money than the year before.”
Although the Sonora Service Extension Unit of the Salvation Army was started in Tuolumne County in the early 1940s, it wasn’t until 1990 that the “Christmas Kettle Drive” was organized. Peggy, who has been a part of the Sonora Service Extension Unit since 1981, became the chairperson in 1998.
“That is our fundraiser for the year for the county,” she explained. ”This is the time of year when the Salvation Army does this all over the country.”
Starting the day after Thanksgiving and going until Christmas, the bell ringing army is in full force every weekend. In Tuolumne County the bell ringers are stationed at four locations: Wal-Mart (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), the Junction (from noon to 4 p.m.), Baer’s Antique Store in downtown Sonora (from noon to 3 p.m.) and Andy’s (from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
“We place the kettles according to where the most foot traffic is,” explained Peggy. “And the stores tell me what the best hours are so I don’t waste people’s time.”
Yet following the season’s motto, the bell ringers give their time freely and take turns working two-hour shifts.
“We are a volunteer unit,” said Peggy, who organizes the volunteers for each shift. “We don’t pay our bell ringers; everyone volunteers. It’s amazing! Last year we had 388 volunteer hours. It’s a big effort. Especially like last weekend, when the weather was cold. Yet people are willing to do that for us. It’s really great to see.”
Many of these people have done it for years and volunteer from agencies like the Department of Social Services or from service clubs like the Kiwanis Clubs or the Lions Clubs, while others are first-timers.
“Each year I pick up new people, which is wonderful,” said Peggy. “It’s a great experience.”
Not only do the volunteers get to experience the gift of giving their time, but they are able to meet a wide variety of people, and often leave their shift with many stories to tell.
“The stories I hear from people about what they’ve gotten from the Salvation Army is amazing,” said Peggy. “A lot of veterans will come up and talk about the benefit that Salvation Army was to them during war time. But of course those stories are getting fewer and fewer because the World War ll veterans are becoming few and far between. There is a lot of history with the Salvation Army. I have a bell ringer this year who I asked if she had ever done this before and she told me that when she was a kid she used to ring a bell in Watsonville because her family was involved in the Salvation Army. So for her it’s this nostalgia, and she is doing two shifts for me this year.”
Being a bell ringer also allows one to see a different side of people.
“What’s interesting for me and every other bell ringer is the people that you think would not put money in the kettle are the one’s who do,” said Peggy. “The kids who are dressed in the Goth apparel and have twenty piercings in their ear will come up and put money in the kettle while someone who looks like they can afford it will walk right by you. But the best is when parents have the little kids put money in the kettle because it teaches them early on about giving. It’s pretty cool.”
However, at times, people tend to give more than they bargained for.
“I have a friend who counts the coins for me and he’s found all kinds of crazy things,” said Peggy. “One time I got a call from a bell ringer mid-way through their shift and they said someone had accidentally put a key in the kettle! Because the kettle is locked, I had to go down and unlock it and get the key out for the person. Silly things like that happen when people empty their pockets.”
Yet as more and more people empty their pockets, the coins and bills begin to fill the kettles, and it isn’t uncommon for a kettle to fill during a shift.
“At Wal-Mart we usually fill up two buckets in six hours,” said Peggy. “So I have to go midway through the three shifts and get the filled up bucket and replace it with an empty one. It’s great having two filled buckets at the end of the day. Wal-Mart is definitely our biggest moneymaker. Although the other locations don’t do as well, every little bit of money we get adds up. It all helps.”
Last year, thanks to the donations of generous givers, the kettle drive raised $14,045.
“Ninety percent of the money stays in the county and ten percent has to go back to our San Francisco division,” said Peggy. “A lot of counties aren’t able to raise as much money as ours, so our ten percent is sent to San Francisco and then dispersed to other units like ours who need it. But the rest of that money stays here to do the services that we do in the county. The committee of volunteers decides how to best meet the needs of Tuolumne County residents and we disperse the money according to their needs. Each county committee can decide to do different things.”
A majority of their money raised by the Sonora Service Extension is given to the ATCAA Food Bank and the Interfaith Food Bank.
“We look at what agencies do and service clubs do and we do what other people don’t,” said Peggy. “We don’t duplicate services provided by the government or other local agencies and service clubs but rather finds ways to fill in the gaps. We serve the fall in the crack kind of people. We don’t do things at Christmas and Thanksgiving – but instead we do it throughout the whole year.”
From October 2007 through September 2008 local volunteers spend approximately 4,107 hours providing services to residents of Tuolumne County.
“One of the things that I like that we to do for children is we subsidize kids for the summer recreation programs through the recreation department and give them swim lessons and pool passes and send kids to camp every year in the Santa Cruz mountains,” said Peggy. “We also do a lot of things for seniors such as home repairs and transportation needs.”
The homeless is another population they serve. Last year they served 440 people and provided them with tents, sleeping bags, socks, flashlights, batteries, cook stoves with propane canisters, tarps, pads, lanterns, and other supplies. The homeless have always been on the heart of the Salvation Army, and these were the first people that the founder, William Booth, reached out to.
In 1852 Booth embarked upon his ministerial career, desiring to win the lost multitudes of England to Christ and he began walking the streets of London to preach the gospel to the poor, the homeless, the hungry and the destitute. In 1865, Booth set up a tent in a Quaker graveyard where his services became an instant success and he attracted followers who were dedicated to fight for the souls of men and women. In 1867, Booth had only 10 full-time workers, but by 1874, the number had grown to 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists, all serving under the name “The Christian Mission.” Booth assumed the title of general superintendent, with his followers calling him “General.” Known as the “Hallelujah Army,” the converts spread out of the East End of London into neighboring areas and then to other cities. In 1878 Booth came across a statement that read, “The Christian mission is a volunteer army,” which he soon changed to the “Salvation Army.” From those words came the basis of the foundation deed of the Salvation Army.
From that point, converts became “soldiers of Christ” and were known then, as now, as Salvationists. In spite of violence and persecution, some 250,000 people were converted under the ministry of The Salvation Army between 1881 and 1885. Meanwhile, the “Army” was gaining a foothold in the United States, and in 1879 Lieutenant Eliza Shirley held the first meeting of The Salvation Army in America, in Philadelphia. President Grover Cleveland received a delegation of Salvation Army officers in 1886 and gave the organization a warm personal endorsement. This was the first recognition from the White House and would be followed by similar receptions from succeeding presidents. The Salvation Army movement expanded rapidly to Canada, Australia, France, Switzerland, India, South Africa, Iceland, and local neighborhood units. Today the Salvation Army is active in virtually every corner of the world and during this time of year endeavors to bring spiritual light and love to those it serves at Christmas so that the real meaning of the season is not forgotten.
If it is in your pocket, and most importantly, your heart, to give this Christmas season, stop by a kettle and donate to those in need. Checks are accepted or can be mailed to Salvation Army, P.O. Box 654, Sonora CA 95379. Donations of clothing and household items can be made at the Salvation Army truck located at the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Hwy 49. Large household items can be donated by calling (800) 958-7825 as a truck comes from the Stockton area weekly to pick up these items directly from your home. Proceeds from items sold in Salvation Army Thrift Stores supports the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Programs offered free of cost by the Salvation Army.
For those interested in volunteering as a bell ringer for this year or next year, call 532-4763.
May your Christmas season be blessed, and every now and then, don’t forget to stop and listen to the bells..
