Salvation Army bell rings sound of hope during the holiday season
There is no divine miracle that happens when this bell rings.
It’s notanything like that famous line from the old holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
This is the real world, and in the real world, manylives aren’t always so wonderful, not even at this holly, jolly time of the year. That’s why whenthe Salvation Army bell rings in front of the red kettle at your local mall or supermarket, you should dig into your pocket or purse and do some good.
Maybe we need to take that quote from “It’s a Wonderful Life” and alter it and tweak it to fit today’s world of vast unemployment and economic devastation.
“There’s nothing magical about our bell,” says Major Mark Woodcock, head of the Salvation Army’s
“The Salvation Army truly was my salvation. They showed me the way.”
Orlando branch. “At this time of year, though, our bell is the sound of hope in communities throughout the United States and the world.”
Just ask Brian Smith, who was homelessandlivedonthe streets of Orlando for 17 years.
“I slept under bridges,” Smith says. “My address was I-4 and Orange Blossom Trail.”
He battled drug addiction and alcoholism for three decades until one day nine years ago when he walkedinto the local men’s lodge at the Salvation Army. The people there gave him a place to take a shower, abedto sleep in, foodto eat and a spot in the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center.
“I’m nine years sober now,”
Smith says. “The Salvation Army truly was my salvation. They showed me the way.”
Smith now works for the Salvation Army, and during the holidays, he rings the bell, mans the red kettle and raises money that he hopes will save the lives of others just like it saved his.
“When I hear that bell,” Smithsays, “I hear the sound of people like me who need help. The money that you put in the red kettle does a lot of good for a lot of people.”
According to the Salvation Army’s website, the red kettle has been around for more than a century — since 1891, “when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee became distraught because so many needy people in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, McFee resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome — funding the project.
“Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city’s poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.
“The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, ‘Keep the Pot Boiling.’ He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.”
Now, 121 years later, there are red kettles in 120 countries across the globe that help the Salvation Armyprovide aid to nearly 5 million people during the holiday season. In Orlando, the red kettles dispersed throughout the area are expected to raise about $370,000 — or about 8 percent of the organization’s total annual budget.
“You put a little bit of change into the red kettle, anda lot of changeis going to come out of it,” Woodcock says.
“The Salvation Army saved my life,” Brian Smith says.
Saving lives or “It’s a Wonderful Life”?
WhichChristmasbells really hold the most magic?