The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
HE’S BEEN THERE
Volunteer, once homeless, knows impact of donations
The Salvation Army holds a special place in Jim Acker’s heart.
It’s not only because he believes in what the organization does for the communities it serves. And it’s not just because he could easily pose as Santa
Claus’ stunt double and likes to see the looks on people’s faces as they walk past him and his kettle.
It’s also because, for going on 10 years, Acker was homeless, himself. And he knows what it’s like to be needy around the holidays, along with the rest of the year.
“This is my 10th year,” Acker
“I have a bit of a disadvantage, compared to other bell ringers, because the people tend to think I’m Santa Claus.” — Volunteer Jim Acker
said of his bell-ringing tenure, adding that he moved into his first apartment in nearly 10 years in June. “Basically, I was out on the streets for quite a while. So, when I started (being a bell ringer during the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign) I was trying to pay back all the help I got from them and from the churches that helped me out during that time.”
He said the little bit of money he was able to earn working the seasonal job also helped out. But this year, he said, he’s doing it for free.
“This is the first year I’m doing it 100 percent volunteer,” he said and explained why. “I lost my girlfriend Jan. 1 to pancreatic cancer. She was my driving force. So I’m out here this year in honor of her memory. And, as much as the Major (Maj. Robert Bender, one of the officers at The Salvation Army of Painesville) helped me out, I just wanted to give back. So, my driving goal, this year, is for them.”
He said there are fewer volunteers this year than in the past, so “they’re getting more hours out of me than I expected,” noting that his bell-ringing spans six days a week for 10 hours a day.
“But I’m glad to do it, especially with all the support they’ve given me in the past,” he said.
When The News-Herald caught up with him outside the Mentor Walmart location Dec. 12, he said it was his 23rd day on the job this season, with 10 more remaining after that.
“I have a bit of a disadvantage, compared to other bell ringers, because the people tend to think I’m Santa Claus,” he joked with the appropriate chuckle, not to mention the beard, red stocking cap and silver, wire-rimmed glasses perched half-way down his nose. “The kids, well, they’ll say ‘Oh, look! It’s Santa!’ And the adults will even say ‘You do look like him!’ So that’s what I’ve been told, anyway.”
He said it all plays well into the season and the Red Kettle Campaign.
“It definitely doesn’t hurt to have a bell ringer that looks like Santa,” he quipped, adding that he generally starts growing his beard out in July to ensure it reaches Claus-like proportions by the time the campaign starts in November. “Then I don the hat and, all of a sudden, people think I’m Santa.”
No matter the status of his facial hair, however, Bender said Acker’s been a die-hard member of his bell-ringing crew for the six years he’s been at the Painesville Salvation Army location.
“Jim’s a faithful man,” Bender said. “He never misses a day.”
And that means, and takes, a lot.
With as cold and blustery as it’s been the last few days, that kind of dedication is nothing to be taken lightly.
While most of us do the best we can to stay out of the weather — dashing through the snow to reach the insides of warm stores or the comfort of our preheated vehicles — Acker is standing out in the sometimes-freezing North Coast weather for five or more hours at a time, with only two half-hour breaks throughout. That’s with two bum knees, too.
“I have bad knees,” he said. “One’s been replaced and the other one should be.”
He said he’s got determination and a good cause to keep him going, though.
“Everybody asks me how I can do it,” he said. “It’s just mind over matter. I guess I’ve got a strong determination.”
He said it helps, too, that he believes in the Salvation Army’s mission. He knows the donations stay here in Lake County and benefit everything from the homeless outreach and meal programs the organization offers to those it provides for area children and families in need.
Plus, he said, there’s the devotion he feels for the people who helped him out when he was down on his luck.
“I know where the funds go and all that,” he said. “Plus, like I said, the major has taken good care of me over the last few years. And I know the group (of volunteers) and I have loyalty to them, too.”
One Mentor resident who passed by and dropped a donation into Acker’s kettle said she feels a certain loyalty to area bell ringers, too.
“I think it’s awesome because they’re generous enough to freeze their tootsies off to help other people,” Diane Baker said. “Every time I go shopping I pull out whatever’s in my pockets (to donate). It could be a bunch of change. It could be a $5 bill. I don’t care. It’s going into the kettle.”
She added that “it also gets you in the Christmas spirit,” and that she thinks the campaign shouldn’t just be limited to the holiday season.
“I just know the Salvation Army has always been there for people and we should be there for them,” she said.
Another Mentor resident, Stephanie Pokorny, said she shops the Walmart in Mentor often and sees Acker there often. And, like Baker, she said she and her family are glad to drop some donation money into the kettle.
“I shop here, probably three times a week, and I see him here every time,” she said. “I usually give money to my kids to (donate) but they’re not with me today.”
Pokorny said she likes to pitch in because she and her family are able to afford what they need day to day and she’s happy to help those who cannot.
“I’m fortunate enough to be able to go in there and buy the things I need,” she said. “So I want to try to help others get the things they need, as well.”