seph McFee, a Salvation Army officer who was looking for a way to cover the cost of the community Christmas meal. Recalling his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England, he recreated the“ Simpson’ s Pot,” an iron pot where charitable donations were placed by passersby. By 1895 the“ kettle’” was used by 30 locations along the west coast and by 1897 the campaign was making its mark in the east. That year, the kettle effort in Boston and other locations nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the poor.
Years later, the kettles were painted bright red and those leading the effort began ringing bells to draw attention. Before you knew it, red kettles could be found just about anywhere. In no time, The Salvation Army Red Kettle was seen as an indispensable part of Christmas. The kettles inspired the Christmas song“ Silver Bells,” and in popular holiday movies and television programs you can spot a red kettle or two. National Advisory Board member Jerry Jones( owner of the Dallas Cowboys) proposed that The Salvation Army hold a National Kettle Kickoff at the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game. For over 20 years, thousands of people have seen The Salvation Army featured during the televised halftime show!
Kettles are even used in Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Public donations to the kettles allow The Salvation Army to bring the spirit of Christmas to those who would otherwise be forgotten all year long – the elderly and homebound, inmates of prisons / institutions, the homeless, and thousands of children. In the United States, red kettles at Thanksgiving and Christmas help make it possible for The Salvation Army to do the most good for 30-plus million people each year. So please keep this in mind as you see the“ bell ringers” out this holiday season. People are volunteering their time to ring bells to make our community a better place. To quote Lisa from Coming to America,“ We’ re happy to get the kind of money that jingles, but we’ d rather get the kind that folds!”
Sharing your donation during the holiday season helps The Salvation Army with underserved families, but also helps over 27 million people through a myriad of other services all year long. These include disaster response services, social service programs, youth music and art programs, senior centers, human trafficking advocacy, veterans services, clothing closets, and correspondence services through their prison programs. Volunteering with Salvation Army’ s Red Kettle spreads holiday cheer while making a meaningful impact, as every donation collected helps provide essential support to individuals and families in need. Since every community has different needs, each Salvation Army location is able to customize its programs and services to benefit their actual neighbors.
Along with generous community members, the red kettles also help provide Christmas gifts through The Salvation Army’ s Angel Tree program. Recognizing that every child deserves to feel the wonder of Christmas, the Angel Tree program provides new clothing, bikes, and toys to more than 1 million children each year. The Salvation Army has partnered with Walmart for over 40 years to host Angel Trees in all of their stores across the country. You may select the tags at Walmart, but you can do your
Miranda Paxton out“ doing the most good.”
Years later, the kettles were painted bright red and those leading the effort began ringing bells to draw attention. Before you knew it, red kettles could be found just about anywhere. In no time, the Salvation Army Red Kettle was seen as an indispensable part of Christmas.
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 38