From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — The Salvation Army of Greater Birmingham is looking for some help this holiday season.
The organization says it has an urgent need for community groups to adopt a kettle location for a day. Specifically, it is seeking student groups, fraternities/sororities, corporate groups, churches, or civic groups to ring bells in shifts from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday-Saturday at one of the Kettle locations across Jefferson, Shelby, and Chilton counties through Dec. 24.
“The Red Kettle Campaign is one of our largest fundraising efforts,” stated Major Charles Powell, Area Commander, The Salvation Army of Greater Birmingham, “and we rely heavily on our volunteers to make it successful. Unfortunately, COVID has intervened, and we are now in desperate need of bell ringers to man the kettles and collect donations this year. The money raised supports the services we provide, not just at Christmas time, but throughout the year. Locally, we rely on funds from the kettles for programs like our social services, utility, rental, food assistance and more. “
The need now is greater than ever, but we cannot put kettles out until we have someone there to ring the bells. Volunteers have a direct impact in helping our neighbors across the region who are struggling, as there is no isolation from hunger, from homelessness, or from poverty.”
To keep bell ringers and donors stay safe, The Salvation Army has implemented protocols that include PPE, sanitizing kettles, and social distancing. In addition, new contactless ways to give are available at all kettles by using Apple Pay or Google Pay. People can also create a virtual Kettle fundraising campaign at Birminghamkettle.org.
Any group or organization interested in volunteering to ring bells is asked to contact (205) 328-7521.