Bell-ringers hoping to raise some holiday jingle got a nice surprise this week. Over the weekend somebody dropped a Canadian Maple Leaf, a gold coin worth an estimated six-hundred-50 dollars, into a kettle at the Ankeny Hy-Vee store.
At a Wal-Mart — also in Ankeny — a Krugerrand turned up, another high-denomination gold coin worth over six-hundred dollars according to the Salvation Army. The gold coins have become an annual tradition for the Salvation Army across the state. Salvation Army officials in Waterloo earlier reported getting a gold coin worth at least 600 dollars in one of their kettles.
The Salvation Army in central Iowa says it’s set an ambitious goal of half-a-million dollars from the red kettles, helped along by creative marketing of the bell-ringer’s job. Families are being urged to volunteer together, as parents look for ways to make the holiday a teaching moment for kids and friends take it as a holiday activity they can share.