Groups needed for Red Kettle Campaign
The Salvation Army of Millersburg’s annual Red Kettle Campaign will kick off Nov. 25, and groups are needed to help ring the bells.
The Salvation Army of Millersburg’s annual Red Kettle Campaign will kick off Nov. 25, and groups are needed to help ring the bells at three locations in Holmes County.
“If you’re looking for a service opportunity, we’ll be happy to take groups (as bell ringers),” said Doug Mohr, contact and scheduler of the Red Kettle Campaign in Holmes County. “Usually, it’s churches or Scouts. Hiland High School’s 4-H and student council will ring. Hiland’s teacher association will be ringing some days after school. West Holmes’ same groups ring. West Holmes’ FFA does a tremendous job after school for us at Walmart. There are a lot of groups that get involved. There’s always a need.”
When a group signs up for a day, its members typically split up the time into shifts — that way no one spends their entire day ringing the bell.
“We don’t expect somebody to stand there for three hours ringing that bell,” Mohr said. “That’s why groups are nice because they can organize it within the group and decide who comes and who passes the bell (to the next person).”
Some groups ring the bell for an entire day while other groups do it for two or three hours. There aren’t any time requirements, according to Mohr.
“We say, ‘Here’s your day, and you guys organize it how you want,’” Mohr said. “For example, at Walmart the day after Thanksgiving, we have a group called the Gold Wingers, and they’re a Honda motorcycle group. They come in at 5 (p.m.) and go to 8 (p.m.), and they have a great time down at Walmart. They’ve done it every year since I’ve been associated with it.
“There’s nothing set in stone. It would be nice to be able to go 9 (a.m.) to 6 (p.m.) every day or 9-8 (p.m.) every day, but people’s time is valuable. If we can get an hour out of a person, we’re happy.”
Using Millersburg United Methodist Church as an example, Mohr broke down what a typical shift might look like for a group.
“They are going to do two days,” he said. “They’ll do one day at Walmart and another day at Rodhe’s. What they’ll do is they’ll get within the church one-hour slots, and then they’ll hand it off to the next ringer and the next ringer and so on. It’s like a relay.”
Two of this year’s kettles will be in Millersburg at Rodhe’s IGA Marketplace and Walmart. The third one will be at German Village Market in Berlin
“We’re just happy to have people volunteer and step forward,” Mohr said. “All of the locations are indoors.”
There also will be mini kettles at several Holmes County businesses.
“(The mini kettles) bring in quite a bit of money,” Mohr said. “People put their extra change in there, and it’s amazing how that change will add up over a period from November to December. They’re right there on the counter, and people see them and respond.”
This year’s campaign will end Dec. 23.
For groups interested in volunteering, call Mohr at 330-763-4484.