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Donations mingle with jingle at kettles
Published November 26, 2009
The start of the holiday season can mean different things to different people — lighting the Christmas tree, shopping for gifts or a favorite football game — but for some area residents, the season for giving hasn’t started until they have given of themselves.
The Salvation Army will have kettles outside several Brazoria County businesses to accept donations that will help area families have a better Christmas, said Capt. Lola Maldonado of the organization’s Freeport chapter. Alongside the kettles will be a volunteer bringing attention to the cause.
“I love the Salvation Army,” said Leslie Coleman, a Salvation Army bell ringer for several years. “They do a lot of really helpful things in our community.”
While growing up in Wisconsin, Coleman said she knew Christmas was coming when it started to snow. There isn’t a similar indicator, she said, although the familiar chimes of a Salvation Army bell works just as well here.
“It really gets me in the Christmas mood,” Coleman said.
Her favorite part of bell ringing is seeing the smiles of all of the people entering the stores, she said.
Bell ringers collect money to provide Christmas for those who cannot afford it and also support the Salvation Army’s budget for the following year, Maldonado said. Because the church has very low overhead, most of the money donated goes to helping people, she said.
“It’s the biggest fundraiser we have,” Maldonado said.
The iconic red kettle will be standing at doors from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. six days a week outside area stores from Friday through Christmas Eve, she said. The bells and kettles are put away on Sundays.
This year, the Salvation Army is extending its reach to Pearland.
The Brazoria County Salvation Army has not had bell ringers there in the past because of its distance from the group’s Freeport base and because of a lack of volunteers, she said.
Brazoria County is proud to be the only Salvation Army chapter in Texas with a bell-ringing contingent made entirely of volunteers, Maldonado said.
That means 100 percent of the money earned by the kettles goes to the Salvation Army, instead of having to use some of it to pay people to ring the bells, she said.
“Brazoria has the bragging rights of an all-volunteer Christmas season,” Maldonado said.
The Salvation Army still is seeking volunteers who will take a turn ringing bells.
People who volunteer are doing a lot for the community, Capt. Mario Maldonado said.
“They do more than they think they do,” he said.
Ringing bells for the Salvation Army can be a life-changing experience for some people, he said.
Ralph House has been ringing bells for the Salvation Army for 15 years, and the 85-year-old plans to do so until he no longer can stand and ring a bell, House said.
There are a lot of people in the world who need help and House is blessed enough to help them, he said.
“We figure the Lord’s keeping us here for something,” House said.
To sign up to be a Salvation Army bell ringer, call 979-233-5429.
Katlynn Lanham is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at 979-237-0150.
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GIVE ’EM A RING
To volunteer to be a bell ringer, call 979-233-5429.
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KETTLE CORNERS
Alvin
• Walmart, 400 S. Bypass 35
Angleton
• Walmart, 1801 N. Velasco St.
• Kroger, 1804 N. Velasco St.
Brazoria
• Stewarts, 102 E. San Bernard St.
Clute
• Kroger, 101 Dixie Drive
Freeport
• Super S Foods, 301 S. Brazosport Blvd.
Lake Jackson
• Food King, 165 Oyster Creek Drive
• Walmart, 121 Highway 332 W.
• Brazos Mall, 100 Highway 332 W.
• Walgreens, 131 Oyster Creek Drive
• Big Lots, 125 Highway 332 W.
• Hobby Lobby, 123 Highway 332 W.
Pearland
• Walmart, 1710 Broadway St.
• Walmart, 1919 N. Main St.
• Walmart, 10505 Broadway St.
Sweeny
• Stewarts, 205 E. Ashley Wilson Road
West Columbia
• Walmart, 301 N. Columbia Drive
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