Salvation Army Readies to Ring in Holiday Season

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Nothing quite rings in the holiday season like the Salvation Army’s bell. Among the many sounds competing for attention during the holidays, Capt. David Donegan is hoping Anderson will make room for this sound and for the person willing to stand beside it.

The Salvation Army of Anderson is preparing for its Red Kettle campaign, the seasonal fundraiser that, Donegan says, helps sustain the organization long after the Christmas decorations come down. His request has two parts: give what you can, and consider giving some time.

“The more volunteers we have, the more money we raise,” he said.

Donegan has been in Anderson for about six months and is ready for kettle season and the Angel Tree campaign.

He also has an award for this year’s red kettle appeal: a prize belt, offered as an invitation to become what he calls “champions of mission,” which will be awarded for the top fund raising group.

“Without your support,” he said, “we can’t do anything that we do here at the Salvation Army.”

The red kettle is a holiday presence with a purpose that extends beyond the season. The campaign is the Anderson organization’s largest annual fundraiser and its largest source of income for year-round operations. The local Salvation Army has no other social enterprise in Anderson or Anderson County to provide that source of revenue, making the holiday collection especially important.

For shoppers, a donation may occupy only a moment between errands, but for the organization, those moments accumulate into money needed for the months ahead.

“This is an opportunity for us to make our budget for the entire year,” Donegan said.

His appeal is direct. As the kettles go out, he asks residents to dig deep and support the work. But he is equally interested in the people who make those donations possible by standing at a kettle and ringing a bell.

“People love to give to organizations,” he said. “They love to give to individuals who are giving of their time.”

In his account, the volunteer is not simply attending a collection point, it supplies a human connection, someone who has paused their own holiday preparations to invite others to help.

“And we value each and every one of those,” he said.

Some locations may have something that speaks to the lack of volunteer bell-ringers: a sign explaining why there is no kettle.

Donegan said the signs will make clear that the omission is not an oversight, that there was no one available to ring. But the message will be accompanied by a QR code that still allows passersby to donate and/or volunteer.

Residents interested in volunteering can visit salvationarmyanderson.org and follow the link to the organization’s Golden volunteer signup page to select a bell-ringing spot. The QR codes at unstaffed locations will offer another route to signing up.

The invitation is to fit a little time into a season that rarely seems to have enough of it.

Donegan’s holiday appeal closes where his introduction began: with his family and their new community.

He and his wife, Capt. Brittany Donegan, and their children, Tara and Ryan, are preparing to celebrate their first Christmas as part of Anderson.

“Thank you for accepting us,” he said. “And thank you for inviting us into this community and allowing us to come and serve alongside each and every one of you.”

The bell-ringing, meanwhile, asks for a modest interruption of the holiday rush, a moment to stop, a donation to make, perhaps a volunteer slot to fill. The kettle belongs to Christmas, but what it helps make possible belongs to the whole year.