Behind The Bell Ringers

Dec. 18, 2015

All About The Salvation Army’s Holiday Campaign

The year was 1891. It was a damp and dark Christmas Eve in San Francisco. The officer in charge of the city’s Salvation Army office had noticed the poor folks down at the wharf — the disadvantaged and the homeless, alone and struggling on this holiday night. To help, he set out a black pot with a sign that read “Keep the Pot Boiling” and he started ringing a bell to draw attention, encouraging passersby to drop in some coins to help the less fortunate.

That was the beginning of the nowiconic Salvation Army holiday kettles, seen throughout the country.

“It really all started at that one location in California,” explained Roman Hank, development director and community relations coordinator for the Salvation Army location in Petoskey. “And now we’ve had our kettles boiling for 124 years.”

BELIEVE IN THE BELLS

Each year, as the holiday season approaches, Salvation Army centers across the U.S. get ready to mobilize their bell ringers. Hank’s office started sending ringers out to locations in Petoskey, Boyne City and Charlevoix on Nov. 13.

“We have both paid staff who are bell ringers, and volunteers,” he said. “Right now, we have about 100 total. We ask them to do a minimum of two hours at a kettle; they can work up to eight hours if they wish.”

The day of a bell ringer is often a cold one; the men and women wearing red aprons and ringing bells are sometimes warmly thanked and sometimes simply ignored. It’s not an easy job, but the bell ringers believe in what they’re doing, from the temporary workers to the volunteers.

“We hire folks who need short-term employment, who may not have income this time of year,” Hank explained. “One of the guys said he was doing this to pay for Christmas gifts, and then we have volunteers from all walks of life who are doing okay financially, but choose to do this to help their neighbors.”

Equipped with the traditional red kettles and bells (“…especially manufactured for the Salvation Army,” Hank confirmed), bell ringers don their red aprons and try to get people to part with a little cash at the busiest time of the shopping year. Some bell ringers simply rely on a smile or a little personality; others go the extra mile.

LET US ENTERTAIN YOU

“The most challenging thing about being a bell ringer is the weather, since most of them are outdoors,” Hank said, “and after that, boredom when things get slow, but some people will bring guitars or brass instruments and play them. We have one veteran who plays holiday music on a radio.

We get school choir singers and we have one lady who will be bringing her musical handbells group out this year.”

“We get more money when people put the effort into entertaining because that draws more people,” he added.

Hank and his wife both try to ring at least once each year. He also mentioned that it’s nice when people recognize the bell ringers’ efforts from the other side.

“The most rewarding thing about being a bell ringer are the smiles and the thank yous, and the little stories people share,” he said. “It’s also great when people bring the bell ringers hot coffee, cocoa or cookies.”

Coffee and cookies, while always welcome, aren’t really part of the Salvation Army’s goal. Each office sets an annual financial goal; this year’s Emmet/Antrim/Charlevoix goal is $60,000, while Grand Traverse, a bigger region, has a larger number in mind.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

“Our goal is $185,000 this year,” said Ruth Blick, Traverse City’s Salvation Army community development director. “Most of that will be from the red kettles, although we don’t have enough bell ringers yet; we have 20 different locations, so it takes a lot to fill those, and we only have 60 ringers right now.”

At both northern Michigan Salvation Army locations, the majority of the money collected goes right back into the community, less a few cents for administration and office expenses.

“We help people with food, utilities, things like getting their car repaired,” Hank listed. “Sometimes people get out of a temporary job or rehab or are stranded for other reasons, and we can help them get a bus ticket home. We also assist with emergency disaster services for both the community and individuals.”

Occasionally, the Salvation Army will get an unexpected, and usually anonymous, kettle windfall.

“For a while, people were dropping gold coins in worth a few hundred dollars each,” Hank said. “And once, we got a diamond ring with a note that said to have it cashed and use the money for whatever we need; that was worth around $800.”

Similar occurrences happened in the Grand Traverse region, too.

“For several years in a row, we had a person here who would pick a random kettle and put exactly ten $100 bills in it, always nicely folded,” Blick’s co-worker, volunteer director Mary Vollink said. “We never found out who did it.”

But, for the most part, it’s the day-to-day pocket change and thoughtful donations in front of neighborhood shops that add up to make the real difference.

“And it all goes right back into the Salvation Army’s good works,” Hank said.

Salvation Army red kettles can be found all around town this holiday season; you can visit salvationarmy.org to find one near you. You can also donate online directly to the Petoskey office (sapetoskey.org) or to the Traverse City office (satraversecity.org). To volunteer as a bell ringer, call (231) 347-3531 ext. 103 in Petoskey or (231) 946-4644 in Traverse City.

Northern Michigan’s Salvation Army by the Numbers:

– Years the Salvation Army bell ringers have been active: 124

– Bell ringers in Petoskey/Boyne/Charlevoix this year: 100

– Emmet/Antrim 2015 fundraising goal: $60,000

– Bell ringers in Traverse City/Leelanau this year: 60

– Grand Traverse 2015 fundraising goal: $185,000

– Average bell ringer shift: 2 hours

– Longest bell ringer shift allowed: 8 hours

– Amount of each dollar going directly to charity: 83 cents