TAMPA, Fla. — As people began their holiday shopping this weekend, the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign started. But in Hillsborough County, there’s a shortage of volunteers.
- Salvation Army in need of bell ringers
- 60 more volunteers needed
- Red Kettle campaign runs through Christmas Eve
There’s 130 locations where they can be ringing bells and collecting donations, but right now they’re in need of 60 more volunteers.
“This year we have some extra sites so that’s part of our challenge,” said Captain Andy Miller, the area commander of the Salvation Army in Hillsborough County.
The other reason is because the organization still has people in the panhandle helping with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts. Miller thinks another factor is Thanksgiving falling on an earlier day this year.
Miller hopes to fill the positions by next week, as the campaign only runs through Christmas Eve.
“Eighty three cents of every dollar goes directly to programs and services in our area,” said Miller. “It is so critical for us to have people give but also people who would be willing to come out and ring.”
Barbara Byars is a Tampa resident and has been bell ringing for more than 30 years. The reason she’s done it for so long is simple.
“I know that it’s going to help provide the things that we all want for Christmas. We all want our families to have a nice dinner. We want our families to have food,” said Byars.
The goal is to raise more than $2 million in the Tampa Bay area through this campaign. If you’d like to donate, click here.
If you'd like to volunteer to be a bell ringer, click here.