Ringing in the season

Holly Wiebolt places her money in a Salvation Army red kettle Friday outside the Baxter Cub Foods as Jaclyn Holloway (left), James Kellen, volunteer, Larry Lundblad, board member, Bill Lakin and Lt. Grant Holloway, corps officer for the Brainerd lakes office, look on. The event kicks off the red kettle campaign for the Salvation Army. (Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls)

By Spenser Bickett

November 20, 2015 at 10:35 PM

Without enough volunteers this holiday season, Brainerd lakes area residents won't hear the familiar ringing of bells by Salvation Army red kettle bellringers.

At a kickoff event Friday at Cub Foods in Baxter, Lt. Grant Holloway, Brainerd Salvation Army administrator, said there are 13 different bellringing sites in the area. Those sites will be staffed from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday all the way until Christmas Eve, except for Thanksgiving.

That means there's about 4,900 volunteer hours available for bellringers, Holloway said, and they're about one-third booked so far.

"A lot of people don't think to volunteer until after Thanksgiving," Holloway said.

Plenty of volunteers will be needed for the Brainerd Salvation Army to meet its red kettle fundraising season goal of $250,000, Holloway said. Last year's goal of $236,000 was surpassed by $8,000.

"The need is greater," Holloway said. "That's one of the trends we've seen in the community. So we had to increase our goal."

Of that $250,000 goal, Holloway said, $150,000 will come directly from the red kettles, with the remainder being collected via mailed or online donations. All the money raised stays in the area and goes to support local Salvation Army services.

"Last year, we provided 47,000 different services," Holloway said. "A service could be a visit to the food shelf, or rent or utility assistance."

Volunteers can sign up for a minimum two-hour bellringing shift, Holloway said. The activity is popular with church groups, social clubs, school organizations and individuals as well. A veteran bellringer himself, Holloway offered some advice for volunteers.

"Dress warm for the weather, and have fun with it," Holloway said. "Some people sing or dance, and I've even seen puppets. I've really seen it all."

There's a real benefit to having a good time while bellringing, Holloway said.

"It makes people more likely to want to give," Holloway said. "It ushers in the Christmas season, and you can spread cheer."

In the spring, once the hours and donations are tallied, there's a competition among bellringers, Holloway said. There's award recognition for the top five bellringing school clubs, businesses, church groups and individuals.

"That's been a tradition, to celebrate that," Holloway said.

Some who donate will share personal stories or chat with the bellringers, Holloway said. A woman recently shared a story of how the Salvation Army had helped her grandmother, and now she herself was giving to the cause.

Holloway said he's been a bellringer in blizzards and 70-degree weather, and provided a tip for the perfect bellringing technique.

"It's all in the wrist, not the elbow," Holloway said. "And you've got to keep the bell low."

For more information on signing up for a bellringing shift or to donate, visit www.salvationarmynorth.org/brainerd or call 218-829-1120.

SPENSER BICKETT may be reached at 218-855-5859 or spenser.bickett@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/spenserbickett .

Michelle Maile helps her 1-year-old daughter Jazmyn Pederson move a dollar into the Salvation Army red kettle at Baxter Cub Foods Friday evening. The annual drive has begun with bellringers stationed at businesses in the Brainerd-Baxter area. (Brainerd Dispatch/ Steve Kohls)