Meet Your Neighbor: Red Kettle campaign set to begin, but more volunteers needed

Sheri Trusty
·2 min read

FREMONT - The Christmas season would not be the same without the sound of tinkling bells ringing at local stores, calling shoppers to toss a little change into the Salvation Army’s big Red Kettles.

In Sandusky County, the bells will begin ringing on the day after Thanksgiving, and donations — and volunteers — are needed more than ever this year.

The local Salvation Army office is managed by Sandusky County Share and Care.

Share and Care, a nonprofit downtown Fremont thrift store and agency that helps the needy, receives 80% of all of the Red Kettle Campaign donations, and those donations are used exclusively to help Sandusky County residents in need. While some Red Kettle Campaigns help fund overhead costs, none of the Sandusky County Red Kettle donations are used to fund administrative or building maintenance needs at Share and Care.

Sharon Evans, left, Sandusky County Red Kettle coordinator, and Lynette Kirsch, Sandusky County Share and Care executive director, are looking for volunteers to help man Salvation Army Red Kettles.
Sharon Evans, left, Sandusky County Red Kettle coordinator, and Lynette Kirsch, Sandusky County Share and Care executive director, are looking for volunteers to help man Salvation Army Red Kettles.

“None of it is used to buy clothing racks or pay wages. One hundred percent of our 80% goes directly to our community,” said Lynette Kirsch, executive director of Share and Care.

Most Red Kettle funds aid local residents

The funds are primarily earmarked for aiding local residents with rent and utility payments, but some of the money meets other needs in the community. Last year, some of the donation funds were used to purchase gifts for children in permanent foster care, and some helped provide meals for Moms and Dads taking parenting classes at Heartbeat-Hope Medical.

The 2022 Sandusky County Red Kettle Campaign brought in over $25,000. Last year’s campaign was extraordinarily successful because it included matching federal COVID-19 funds which brought the campaign fund total to over $45,000.

“This year will look different because the COVID stuff has finished,” Kirsch said. “We’ll only get what’s in the kettle.”

Sandusky County Share and Care manages the local Salvation Army office. Money raised from the annual Red Kettle Campaign funds Share and Care’s community aid programs, such as rent and utility assistance.
Sandusky County Share and Care manages the local Salvation Army office. Money raised from the annual Red Kettle Campaign funds Share and Care’s community aid programs, such as rent and utility assistance.

Red Kettle project needs bell ringers

The need for donations is matched by the need for volunteers to man the Red Kettles. Kirsch said it becomes harder to find volunteers each year, but without volunteers, there is no Red Kettle Campaign. Without the Red Kettle Campaign, no Salvation Army funds will be available to Sandusky County.

“The only money we get from the Salvation Army is what comes from the kettle,” Kirsch said.

Sharon Evans, the Red Kettle Coordinator for Sandusky County, is scheduling volunteers to man kettles. She will approach local service organizations and church groups, but she is dependent on individuals and families to contact her to fill every spot.

Volunteers are needed to man two-hour shifts at Walmart and Kroger in Fremont. The Red Kettle Campaign will begin on Nov. 24 and will continue until Christmas Eve. Anyone wishing to volunteer should call Share and Care at 419-334-2832.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Bell Ringers needed for local Red Kettle campaign