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Being local: Salvation Army red kettle volunteers

By Joyce Koballa jkoballa@heraldstandard.Com 4 min read

The red kettles seen on street corners and in front of businesses throughout the Christmas season may be the most recognized symbol of The Salvation Army, but the social service organization points out the thousands of volunteers that donate their time to encourage donations represent quiet heroes to the communities they serve.

According to the Salvation Army, donations from the annual event are used locally to provide services and programs that benefit the community in which the money is collected.

The funds support soup kitchens and transitional shelter for the homeless, activities and programs for at-risk children, care and essential services for seniors, and more based on local needs.

“We get a lot of groups from high schools, scouts and churches that are pretty consistent, but are always reaching out to new individuals,” said Mary McKnight, director of the Connellsville/Scottdale Service Center. “We work every week trying to get shifts filled.”

McKnight added the service center recently added the Frazier School District to its coverage area.

The Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania’s 40 worship and service centers, 10 service centers and 107 service units officially kick off the Annual Red Kettle Christmas Campaign the day after Thanksgiving.

While critical services are provided in 127 countries worldwide, the Western Pennsylvania Division is comprised of 28 counties that serves thousands of needy families through a wide variety of support services.

“The number of volunteers is down overall,” said Donna Fencik, spokeswoman for Western Pennsylvania Division. “Everyone’s really struggling and a lot of kettle sites are going unmanned.”

Each year, the Salvation Army works diligently to be able to meet the ever increasing needs of the communities it serves through the support of others with this year’s goal across southwestern Pennsylvania set at $2,604,268.

“Literally thousands of families across the division rely on us for a vast array of programs and services. Some need help with some groceries to get them through until their next paycheck. For others, it may be more complicated. But whatever the issue, we strive to meet each client’s needs with dignity and respect,” said Major Deborah Sedlar, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army’s Western Pennsylvania Division.

According to Sedler, people can also volunteer from the comfort of their own home by ringing a virtual bell by hosting individual, team and company kettles with information available at www.OnlineRedKettle.org.

Last year, Fencik reported Fayette County raised $53,000.

She said this year’s goal is $56,000 with about $16,085 raised as of Friday- $2,400 more than this time last year.

McKnight said the service center raised $38,000 last year with the help of Scottdale, just $2,000 shy of its goal of $40,000 set again for this year.

“People give up their time and rearrange their own personal schedule to come and stand just for an hour or two and it means a lot,” McKnight said.

She said knowing that one hour may have raised enough to help one family in crisis is enough to make volunteers feel good about themselves by giving back to their local community.

This year marks the Salvation Army’s 150th Anniversary, which evolved in 1891 from Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee who was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry.

During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken, but needed funding the project.

As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing and beside it placed a sign that read, “Keep the Pot Boiling.”

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy.

In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years.

Today in the United States, the Salvation Army assists more than 4.5 million people during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Captain McFee’s kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world.

Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

For more information on how to become a bell ringer during the holiday season, calls can be made to the local service centers in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.

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