Salvation Army still needs bell ringers for season

With the first full weekend of bellringing coming up tomorrow (Friday), the Salvation Army's Wilkes County Unit is continuing its call for volunteer ringers to man the familiar Salvation Army Christmas Kettle collections. Annually, the kettles are the Salvation Army's major effort to raise funds for helping needy people all through the year and especially during the Christmas season.

"We have had good response to our pleas for volunteers," said Salvation Army Treasurer Dot Harris,

who coordinates the bell-ringers scheduling, "but we need more to complete our full schedule. Please call me at 706-678-2818 if you can ring a bell for an hour or more before Christmas Day. We have expanded the time this year so we need several additional ringers. We are grateful for all our wonderful volunteers."

Harris explained that an extra day of ringing has been added this year to help meet a projected increase in requests for help. The single kettle will alternate between locations at Ingles and Bi-Lo every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in December, plus two Thursdays (December 14 and 21). Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Sundays (2 to 5 p.m.)

"If we could get enough ringers, we could add a second kettle and not change locations," Harris added. "But right now, we just want to fill our schedule with the single kettle."

Besides helping to meet a variety of emergency needs during Christmas, the Salvation Army gives aids to transients who may find themselves stranded in Washington in dire need of a helping hand.

An especially pathetic example of such need arose recently when an elderly grandfather from Michigan became ill here while trying to hitchhike his way home after a failed attempt to see his grandchildren in Aiken, S.C.

Someone recognized that the man needed help and called Wills Memorial Hospital. He was treated and released but had no money for resuming his trip home. He was taken to the Washington Police Department where he told his sad story. The man related that he had saved $600 to make a trip to Aiken, S.C., where he hoped to see his grandchildren before Thanksgiving. He checked into a motel and waited, but the grandchildren never arrived. After about a week his money ran out and he gave up. He started home but got no farther than Washington.

Through a standing agreement with the police department, the Salvation Army is ready to help deserving transients with lodging, food, and travel expenses. Working in partnership with Wilkes Ministers United, the Salvation Army helped meet the man's immediate needs and shared equally in purchasing a bus ticket to his hometown in Michigan.

It may be that this grandfather may never see his grandchildren, but no doubt he was blessed in his effort to see them.

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