A little girl opens her hand and her mom places a few coins on her palm. Her fingers curl up on top of the coins. The Mom and her daughter step forward. A smile from the volunteer bell ringer encourages them. Mom lifts her daughter just a few inches. The little girl’s eyes are now even with the top of the red kettle. From there, the girl puts her hand over the opening of the kettle and the coins slide in.
“Thank you for your donation to the Salvation Army of McHenry County,” the bell ringer says in a way that you might think he was auditioning to play Santa Claus. This is a wonderful lesson in life and charity that plays out time and again during the Red Kettle Campaign.
The call for volunteer bell ringers starts before the Red Kettle Kick-off in early November and continues right up to Christmas almost every year. The Salvation Army of McHenry County Major Barbara Owen, Corps Officer is familiar with the great demand for volunteers over the holidays for a lot of events. Bell ringing is just one of the many needs. The holiday season stretches from November through December and covers all of McHenry County. The more volunteers available, the more times and places they can ring bells and greet people like the little girl giving for possibly the first time.
Bell ringing and giving to the Red Kettle Holiday Campaign carry with it a golden history. In 1982, an anonymous donor gave thousands of dollars of gold coins to the Salvation Army of McHenry County. The “golden” tradition continues today. Opening the red kettles has always been a very exciting adventure not only for the promise of a filled kettle but for the prospect of a gold coin discovered among the folded dollars.
Owen said on the first day of the kettle season this past November 9, the first kettle opened had a gold Krugerrand, “but no gold since. We will keep our eyes open.”
The kettle campaign aims for $217,000 this season, about 40 percent of the budget for the Salvation Army of McHenry County.
“Last year, we helped nearly 5,000 people between the back-to-school program and assistance throughout the year,” Owen said.
Support from the bell ringing program raised almost $200,000 in the red kettles last year. The red kettles and the countertop kettles at dozens of businesses help tremendously, according to Owen. Another significant campaign is the Angel Tree program, providing toys for the kids that sign up. The Salvation Army of McHenry County provided more than 8,000 gifts to local children through the Christmas Toyland Shop and Angel Tree program last year.
“The blessing is that people are buying toys for people they don’t know because they want children to enjoy the same feeling they had at Christmas,” Owen said.
Funds raised locally, stay local to support youth, adult, and senior programming. The funds also make possible emergency services and homeless prevention year-round. During the holiday season, funding supports a free community Thanksgiving dinner and toys for children in need.
The bells are ringing again. Someone is standing alongside a red kettle and stuffing in a folded bill. Perhaps a gold coin is hidden in the bill. The generosity of the holidays certainly brings forth the goodness in people.
Owen envisions enough money for starting an English as a second language.
“That’s one of our goals and we are still dreaming of what can be,” she said.
