Volunteers from both camps to be out in full force Dec. 1 to promote city-wide giving to the Salvation Army
HENDERSON, Nev. – The Henderson Chamber of Commerce and the City of Henderson will compete in a Ringing Bell Off Saturday, Dec. 1, to encourage city-wide giving to the Salvation Army.
Volunteers from the Henderson Chamber – chamber board members – will be stationed at Galleria at Sunset’s main entrance from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the City of Henderson – City Council members as well as Mayor Andy Hafen – will ring their bells at the same time at Galleria at Sunset’s Macy’s entrance.
Each year The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Christmas Campaign raises more than $100 million in communities nationwide. The campaign, known to the average shopper for its signature red buckets and cheerful bell ringers outside local grocery stores or Wal-Marts, enables the Salvation Army to provide food, toys and clothing to more than 6 million people during the Christmas Season. A majority of the bell ringers are paid individuals who are homeless or come from low-income families.
The 2012 Red Kettle Christmas Campaign kicked off Nov. 22 and runs through Christmas Eve. Some kettles will be out during the week after Christmas for high-traffic shopping.
The Red Kettle campaign first started in San Francisco in 1981 and has traditionally been The Salvation Army’s most prominent fundraiser. The millions of nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars raised during the campaigns remain in the towns where the money is deposited into the kettles. The funds raised help support many of the 37 million people in poverty who turn to The Salvation Army for food and toys during the Christmas season.
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination since 1865. Nearly 33 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 83 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in nearly 9,000 communities nationwide.
For more information on The Salvation Army, visit salvationarmyusa.org.
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit, voluntary organization committed to promoting and supporting member businesses.
For more information regarding the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, call 702-565-8951 or visit www.hendersonchamber.com.