KEARNEY — The familiar Red Kettles of the Salvation Army will be going up around Kearney this week and individuals or organizations are encouraged to sign up to man the kettles and ring the bells.
The kettles will be going up at nine locations on Friday, Nov. 24 around the community and are manned from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, excluding Sundays.
The goal this year is to raise $56,000 according to the Salvation Army in Kearney.
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to volunteer for a bell-ringing shift as a manned kettle typically makes more than an empty one. To sign up go to: www.registertoring.com
“When you volunteer to ring bells, you help improve and even save lives. The money dropped in a red kettle goes right back into your local community. By volunteering even just two hours of your time, you can raise enough money to feed a family of four for an entire week,” the Salvation Army website states.
Red Kettle History
“In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome — funding the project,” per the Salvation Army website.
“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 website stated.
“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,” the website concluded.