The season for red kettles and bellringers is here, United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) nonprofit partner, The Salvation Army of Greater St. Louis, has worked to ensure everyone has an opportunity to help their efforts to create a happy holiday season for all. Bellringers encourage giving outside local grocery stores during the holidays.
The Salvation Army hopes to inspire giving that will make someone’s holiday season a little brighter. We spoke with Major Adam Moore, General Secretary and St. Louis Area Commander for The Salvation Army about the history of the Red Kettle Campaign, how important helping people during the holidays is to them, and UWGSL’s role in assisting them in those efforts.
What is The Salvation Army doing to help individuals and families during the holiday season?
Our goal this year is to make Christmas brighter for all St. Louisans.
First of all, we want to give opportunities to those who can give their time and treasure to help us ring bells, help us with our toy shops, and make an investment into the lives of our neighbors and our community.
Beginning this week, all of our units will be having their Toys Towns in which we’ll be serving more than 8,400 children with toys for Christmas. We’ll also be providing families with food boxes to help them have a nice Christmas meal as well.
How much does United Way’s funding and support help you in your efforts to create a better, brighter holiday season for the community?
Throughout the year, we are extremely grateful for our partnership with United Way. We are thrilled and honored to be a part of the fabric of the community and one of United Way’s safety net agencies. We are very busy during Christmas time with our fundraising, and large Christmas distributions and toy assistance, and United Way is helping us meet the needs of the community right here in Greater St. Louis.
During this time of year, you’ll see The Salvation Army’s Red Kettel Campaign outside of local grocery stores. How did this start and what are the donations used for?
It started in the late 1800s, the first Kettle was in San Francisco, they would serve people warm meals and also give them the opportunity to give back to the community through donations. There was a red kettle that wasn’t being used for cooking, so people would use that to store donations. We thought that would be a wonderful opportunity here in St. Louis. So, for the last 76 years, it has been a part of the fabric of this community. Our local goal for Greater St. Louis is over $5 million. We always like to say, “Your money goes a long way, but it doesn’t go far.” So, every dollar stays here in Greater St. Louis, and it goes toward positively impacting the lives of our neighbors.
Have you seen support for your Red Kettle Campaign grow over the years since it has gotten more popular?
Yes, the Red Kettle Campaign has become a fabric of our culture. In almost every Christmas movie, you’ll see a bellringer. People expect to see The Salvation Army in front of the various locations that we have in Greater St. Louis.
While the amount of people carrying cash in their pockets has dwindled a little bit, we’ve come up with new ideas to give them the opportunity to utilize some online giving opportunities. We have QR codes and tap-to-pay at some of our Kettle locations, so the support today is stronger than ever.
The UWGSL Holiday Volunteer Guide is a resource that connects people to opportunities to volunteer for organizations like The Salvation Army. How much does that help in your recruitment of bell ringers and volunteers for other Salvation Army initiatives?
We are always grateful for volunteers; we like to think of ourselves as a volunteer army. Our volunteers are really the hands and feet of the army and we’re so grateful to have these volunteer opportunities branded through United Way’s Holiday Volunteer Guide. We have a mission of saving the world and we learn every day that we can’t do that by ourselves.
Community members stepping up to volunteer and make an investment of their time to help their neighbors truly makes a difference. We have several ways for the community to get involved during the Christmas season and even more practical opportunities for volunteering throughout the year.
The Salvation Army’s goal is to “Do the most good” for the community. What does that mean to you and how much do you think it aligns with UWGSL’s mission to help people live their best possible lives?
We want people to see our shield and our centers and know that if they can get to The Salvation Army, we’ll do the most good that we can to help put them on a pathway to hope. That mission goes hand in hand with our partnership with United Way. That’s why we’re a partner agency, and why we are so thankful to be a part of the community because it’s improving the quality of people’s lives that come within our spear of influence and creates lasting change.
Take action now:
- Find out how you can make a difference during the holidays.
- Share this story with family and friends.
