Helping Neighbors This Holiday: GHS National Honor Society members ring the bell for Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign

by Rachel Hunter

The familiar sound of the iconic red kettlebells are ringing again this holiday season, but there are fewer of them and donations aren’t what the Salvation Army typically receives during its annual Red Kettle Campaign. While volunteers stick to strict COVID-19 guidelines, like wearing masks and socially distancing outside of stores, the charity organization said it expects to collect only about half as much as it did in 2019. But that didn’t stop National Honor Society students at Gouverneur High School from volunteering over 75 hours with the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign.

The Red Kettle Campaign is the Salvation Army’s single largest fundraising event of the year. This year, the need is greater than ever before. Since March, the Salvation Army has provided more than 13 million meals.

The Red Kettle Campaign got its start 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. “Where would the money come from?,” he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. 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 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. Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

On Wednesday, December 16, Salvation Army Regional Services Coordinator Sam Reeder and Service Extension Director Ann Vail brought the Big Red Kettle to the Gouverneur Price Chopper from 2 to 4 p.m. Mr. Reeder said that all funds raised in the Gouverneur Service Unit of the Salvation Army stay local to help families in need during the holiday season. He said they work through the Gouverneur Neighborhood Center and its Director Angela Ferrick of Gouverneur to provide food and other vouchers to help families with expenses relating to fuel, shelter, etc. All those in the Gouverneur community are encouraged to help their neighbors in need. The National Honor Society will be ringing the iconic bells at Price Chopper until through Christmas Eve.

Donors don’t have to touch the kettles if they don’t wish to. Each kettle will have the opportunity for people to donate electronically using their smartphones through Apple Pay or Google Pay and there will also be a QR code on each kettle. It has also been placed on various flyers that have been hung around the Gouverneur community. For more information on how to donate, visit give.salvationarmy.org.

National Honor Society Advisor Marcy Tyler told the Gouverneur Tribune Press this week that this is the fourth year that the National Honor Society at Gouverneur High School has participated in the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign – and is a great way for the students to give back to families in the local community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the honor society has reduced its community service requirements to 20 hours. But Advisor Marcy Tyler said many Gouverneur students are still meeting and exceeding the 30 hours of community service, seeking inventive ways of helping families in the local community. This year, the students have contributed more than 75 hours to “ringing the bell” for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign alone.

The National Honor Society members from Gouverneur High School include the following: President Peyton Mussaw, Vice President Kaitlyn Gibson, Secretary Hailey Morrissiey, Treasurer Kolby Wells, Ellen Baer, Holly Barton, Cierra Besaw, Raelin Burns, Haylee Campbell, Corryn Canell, Alex Clancy, Joseph Cummings, Alexis Devlin, Breena Drake, Claire Knowlton, Reese Morenz, Leeah Morrissiey, Torie Salisbury, Cole Siebels, Connor Wood, and Ariana Zeller.

Many Gouverneur community members said that the thrill of dropping change into the red kettle gives their holiday spirits a jolt – each and every time they donate. They recognize the dedication of the National Honor Society students, and desire to give back to their neighbors in need this holiday season. “With so much going wrong in the world right now… this is one way I can make a difference,” one donor said after putting change in the red kettle.

Don’t miss the opportunity to donate toward the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign here in Gouverneur. The National Honor Society student will be ringing the bell through Christmas Eve. For more information on Salvation Army, visit salvationarmyusa.org.