Along with the lights, the trees and carolers, the Salvation Army's red Christmas kettles are a very common sight during the holiday season. Standing in front of stores and on street corners, volunteers accept donations for the Salvation Army with ringing bells and the iconic red buckets. The Christmas kettles are a century-old tradition, according to the Salvation Army's website. In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee organized a fundraiser, where people could throw money into a large iron kettle, to put together a Christmas dinner for the needy in San Francisco. From those beginnings, the red kettles have become one of the most iconic fundraising missions of the Salvation Army. The tradition continues across the country to this day.
In two Southeast Alaska communities, Petersburg and Wrangell, this past Christmas season saw thousands of dollars raised.
Petersburg
Major Loni Upshaw, with the Salvation Army in Petersburg, said that they received a total of $17,130.54 in red kettle donations this year. All of this money will be staying in the Petersburg community, to aid in the Salvation Army's social service programs.
"This is all bell ringing, and it's $3,000 more than last year." Maj. Loni said.
She added that it was not just monetary donations that came in this holiday season. There were many toy donations, too. The Petersburg Salvation Army was able to gather together toys for 45 children in total. One generous donor gave enough toys for 20 children alone, she said. Along with toys, there were also many food donations. She pointed out the Petersburg Lutheran Church, in particular, for donating holiday turkeys.
"We can only do what we do because of the community," she said.
Wrangell
In Wrangell, the Salvation Army also saw lots of generosity over the holiday season. According to Lieutenant Jon Tollerud, Wrangell's new corps officer, the red kettles brought in $10,469. This is the total as of Dec. 26, he said, as donations are still coming in via the mail. He added that they also received a large amount of food donations, worth approximately $6,200. On top of that, he said that they gave Christmas dinner baskets to 60 families this holiday season, and 68 Wrangell children also received gifts from them.
"Our Christmas was great!" he said in a Facebook message.
To learn more about the Salvation Army, visit http://www.salvationarmyusa.org. The Wrangell corps can be reached at (907) 874-3753. The Petersburg corps can be reached at (907) 772-4586.
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