The Salvation Army in Des Moines is preparing to pull out the red kettles for a summer fundraising campaign. The kettles are normally used to raise funds during the Christmas holiday, but Major Keith Petrie says the work doesn’t stop after the holidays.
Petrie says "Need knows no season," and says sometimes there’s the view that people don’t seem to be in as much need the rest of the year as they are during Christmas. Petrie says this is the fourth year they’d done an extra summer bell-ringing campaign.
Petrie says this year, especially with high gas prices, people are finding it hard to make ends meet. He says they have people coming in as much or more than ever for assistance with food, clothing and rent. Petrie says other organizations find they have the same problem with donations dropping off during the summer.
People aren’t in the same type of giving or volunteering mode this time of year, but Petrie says bell-ringing volunteers have one advantage during the summer. Petrie says one the things they push is that you don’t have to wear a parka, boots and gloves, and freeze. He says you can wear Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and ring the bell.
Petrie says they’ll kick off the summer campaign this Friday with a cook-out in downtown Des Moines. They hope to raise 25-thousand dollars during the week-long campaign.