Keeping the bells ringing: Salvation Army scrambles to find volunteers
New Hampshire Salvation Army Major Richard Starkey kicks off this year’s red kettle drive with Governor Chris Sununu outside the State House in Concord on Dec. 4. patrica james
Published: 12/16/2020 6:04:58 PM
The familiar sound of ringing bells greeting holiday shoppers is being heard again this season, despite the COVID-19 pandemic thinning the ranks of volunteers with the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign.
The annual campaign, which began in 1891 in San Francisco, accepts monetary donations for families and others in need. Last year the Red Kettle Campaign raised more than $800,000 in New Hampshire alone. The money not only helps during the holidays but throughout the year by providing food, clothing, shelter, heating assistance, counseling, services for the aging and other assistance.
Published: 12/15/2020 3:25:28 PM
The familiar sound of ringing bells greeting holiday shoppers is being heard again this season, despite the COVID-19 pandemic thinning the ranks of volunteers with the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign.
The annual campaign, which began in 1891 in San Francisco, accepts monetary donations for families and others in need. Last year the Red Kettle Campaign raised more than $800,000 in New Hampshire alone. The money not only helps during the holidays but throughout the year by providing food, clothing, shelter, heating assistance, counseling, services for the aging and other assistance.
Officials with The Salvation Army are anticipating totals nowhere near last year’s mark. At the Salvation Army office in Concord, Major Richard Sharkey said they have four or five kettles this year instead of the usual nine. Sharkey said typically they have seven locations, (two at some locations) and with nine kettles received about $100,000 last year. But this