Wheeling Salvation Army Needs Red Kettle Volunteers
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WHEELING -- The good news is the Salvation Army of Wheeling has recruited 70 volunteers so far to ring bells during the upcoming holiday season. The bad news is they are pacing behind their goal to have 200 volunteers so they don't have to pay anyone to do the job.
To get back on track, the local command that services Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler counties is challenging itself and the community to raise that volunteer army of bell ringers by adding 100 individuals and organizations to its current roster over the next 30 days.
The Salvation Army "Red Kettle Kick Off" is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 16 at Cabela's at The Highlands.
"It is very rare that we ask a company or individual if they could spare a day or two to come out and ring and they decline," Commander Lt. John Lawrence said. "We know the communities where we serve are willing and excited to help. We are hoping by extending this challenge, it might spur some of those potential volunteers and organizations that have been thinking about making that call to pick up the phone and give us a call to get the ball rolling.
"We still believe that this is a very attainable goal, and we're going to keep fighting to make it happen."
When bell ringing locations are not filled with volunteers, the Salvation Army is often forced to pay individuals to work those kettles which dramatically impacts the amount of money that they're able to direct back to the community, according to Lawrence.
Lawrence addressed Ohio County commissioners at their most recent meeting, and invited commissioners to the kickoff.
He reported last year the Salvation Army raised just under $100,000, including sponsorships.
"This year with the rising costs for food and rent, we see a greater number of people coming in," Lawrence said. "We see a greater number of people coming in. Just in one month, we doubled the number of people and food we are serving in one county."
So this year the Salvation Army has raised its goal to $200,000.
"You say, 'Wow, that's double your previous year.' And you're right," Lawrence said. "We came here in June (last year) and got a late start going. We went from 27 volunteers and organization groups in 2022 to last Christmas, when we had 97 volunteers and groups ringing the bell for us.
"This year we believe with an earlier start we will be able to reach our goal of 200 individuals to ring the bells. ... We're just trying to get as many people involved as possible and get the momentum started.
"We're falling a little bit more behind in our days this year because Thanksgiving is falling a little later in the month than normal. As a result, some of our larger places - like Walmart - have us start a week before Thanksgiving. Because of the later start, we're going to have to have a bigger push out there."
He noted bellringers will start Nov. 16 at places like Cabela's, JCPenney and Riesbeck's.
The Salvation Army of Wheeling has been in existence since 1883, and is the oldest social service agency in the state of West Virginia, according to Lawrence.
Any individual, civic organization, or business who would like to help The Salvation Army reach their goal of one hundred volunteers over the next thirty days can call 304-233-4400 to schedule a date and location or simply go to registertoring.com to sign up.