The Salvation Army wants you: Help still needed to staff Christmas Kettles

It's the season of giving, and for the next several weeks, bell ringers will be reminding shoppers that their small contributions are an easy way to help others.

While some kettles and ringers have been collecting since Nov. 8, the Summit County branch of the Salvation Army is getting ready to expand its annual Christmas Kettle campaign — its biggest fundraiser of the year. Nearly three dozen locations around the county should be ready to collect funds by Friday.

The local unit is hoping to recover in terms of its collection efforts, with a goal of $400,000 for the annual campaign. Last year's pandemic restrictions, which limited donation sites to 22, only brought in $285,000. The campaign ends Dec. 24.

The organization is recruiting workers for its collection sites, including volunteers and some paid employees who fill in gaps when volunteers are not available, said Col. James Reynolds, acting Summit County Area Services Coordinator for the agency.

"Volunteers, we certainly love, and if we can find a good, paid worker, we're certainly open to use someone in that capacity," he said, adding the agency has a job available for anyone who wishes to apply.

Paid work is $10.50 per hour for a "variety of arrangements," he said.

"It kind of depends on their schedule. This year, most of our sites are back and we are being very careful with COVID protocols and all that," he said.

A new online portal enables volunteers to sign up and select which locations and dates are available. Volunteers cancreate a log-in at SAvolunteer.org and indicate whether they are signing up for themselves or for a group.

"They can actually go on and schedule a day — and we encourage that — or a period of time," he said, explaining family or groups often will fill an entire day's shift.

Those seeking paid employment should apply at https://careers-usesalvationarmy.icims.com/jobs/8819/kettle-worker-bell-ringer/job

Collections start in earnest the day after Thanksgiving.

"We still have a lot of opportunities for volunteers," he said.

Partner stores for bell ringing across Summit County are Acme, Giant Eagle, Hobby Lobby, Walmart and Sam’s Club. Bell ringers are out through Christmas Eve every day except Sunday.

Typically, the procedure is to schedule a date and location through a group leader — and then it’s the group leader’s responsibility to make sure that the kettle has a bell ringer volunteer at all times.

Collection hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Salvation Army personnel retrieve the full kettle from the last scheduled volunteer and replace it with an empty kettle so it’s ready for the next day.

Acme is the only location that fully permits inside bell ringing, and all locations encourage the 6 foot distancing between the volunteer and the donors, as well as wiping down the kettle after a donor has touched it. Cleaning supplies are included at the kettle stand.

Reynolds said donations help people in need, with those facing eviction due to job loss being a major concern.

"We're getting a tremendous number of requests, far exceeding even last year, for food, rent, mortgage, clothing. We're very much praying that we can reach that goal. That would help us throughout the year to assist people. Not only at Christmas, but throughout the year ...

"Food and toys were big last year, but this year, it's rent and mortgage ... Now it's falling on our budget and our fundraising to try to meet those needs. We're getting far more than we had anticipated in the way of requests," he said.

Eric Marotta can be reached at 330-541-9433, or attoram51@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County Salvation Army recruits help for Christmas Kettle drive