Bell ringers rake in $50,000

Frontiersman

MAT-SU — Relative quiet has returned to the local grocery stores, but not before the Salvation Army Mat-Su Valley Corps raised more than $50,000 through its holiday bell ringer program.

The all-volunteer force invaded the ears of shoppers from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. The corps nickel and dimed its way to the total by working daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We met our expectations, but they were probably down from what we hoped it would be,” bell ringer coordinator Sue Smith said. “However, we found that people were very generous. Instead of putting in coins, many would put in bills.”

The single largest donation this year came when someone donated a check for $1,000 in honor of a Salvation Army worker who passed away this year, Smith said. There was another check for $500, two more for $200, and others all the way down to $5.

“(Donors) will drop something in and say, ‘My family was really helped by the Salvation Army. This is my way of giving back,’” Smith said. “The Salvation Army provides in so many ways, I hear that all the time.”

But the bread and butter of the annual fundraiser is still people donating spare change or dollar bills. Smith said there are people who collect coins all year to bring them to the kettles in December. One person brought a tub full of pennies, nickels and dimes, and another brought just pennies. Between the two, there was over $97, Smith said.

Donations like this helped the Salvation Army raise $51,000 this year.

Maj. Dan Hughes said all of the money raised here stays in the local community. The Salvation Army serves more than 500 Mat-Su Valley families with food, gifts and assistance during the holidays using the bell ringer money each year.

“What’s left over, we put into the general funds for the rest of the year. … It goes toward our emergency services programs, like providing emergency food and emergency housing,” Hughes said. “This is the main fundraiser for the year.”

And this fundraiser relies almost entirely on volunteers. Smith said 156 people signed up for one or more of the two-hour shifts. Additionally, 24 organizations — like Boy Scout troops, Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, and local businesses — participated in the program.

“It’s just fun to ring the bell,” Smith said. “They see people they know, get to say Merry Christmas, and people will say thank you for volunteering.”

Smith said she usually gets one complaint per year from someone who thinks the ringers are causing too much noise. The only complaint ringers ever have is when the outside doors are stuck open letting the wind blow in.

Besides cash and checks, the oddities do show up in the kettles from time to time, Smith said. This year, someone dropped in a counterfeit $20 bill, she said. Then there was the $1 bill wrapped up with white powder inside.

“The cocaine was probably worth more than the dollar,” Smith said. “I do think that someone mistakenly put that in.”

But all in all, both Smith and Hughes said this year was a great success, given the economic climate. The tax deductible donations were slightly below last year’s total, Smith said, but the community should be proud of its generosity.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.

LEARN MORE

Anyone interested in volunteering for next year’s Salvation Army bell ringers program can contact Sue Smith at 745-7079. Additionally, donations are welcome at the Salvation Army anytime of the year.