Do You Hear What I Hear?

 

With five large locally placed red kettles attended by volunteers, the jingle of bells draws shoppers to make a deposit of coins and paper in a pot recognized worldwide. Orrville Rotary Club has continued its decades-long tradition of staffing the Salvation Army red kettle at Buehler's. 

Established in 1891 as the Christmas Kettle  in San Francisco by Salvation Army captain Joseph McFee, the annual charitable outreach program is Salvation Army's most recognizable fundraising campaign. In addition to a total of five large kettles, approximately twenty smaller kettles can be found at checkout counters of area businesses. According to longtime Orrville Salvation Army Maiwurm Service Center volunteer and Buehler's kettle coordinator Mary Starn, recruited bell ringers volunteer 460 hours, while the remaining four large kettles amass an additional 600 combined volunteer hours. This 129th Salvation Army season of bell ringing worldwide, thanks to all of the Orrville area volunteers, enables our service center to continue its year-round efforts helping those in need. 

 

PHOTO: A family affair: Rotarian Dr. David Rittgers shares bell ringing duties with daughter Anna and son, Josh.

 

 

Submitted by Orrville Rotary Club (Wilma Raynor)