The Salvation Army is using social media to help find people to ring bells alongside their red kettles. Major Jim Beardsley in Des Moines says they have a lot of ways people can volunteer, including social media.
“We have a website out there — ring bells dot org — they can call our office right here…we have a Facebook page, if they go to Des Moines Salvation Army, they can pick us up there,” Beardsley says.
The ring bells dot org site can help you volunteer for the Salvation Army anywhere in the state. Beardsley says if they don’t have enough volunteers to do the job, then they have some paid staff that can go out. He says they’ve been covered pretty well with volunteers the first few weeks of bell ringing, but don’t want to run short.
Jim Beardsley
“We can always use more, because if I can set a paid working down and not have to pay the $8.50 an hour for them, that’s just that much more that is going into the profit level that I can use for programming,” Beardsley explains. Beardsley says the on-line sites allow for a lot of flexibility as volunteers check their calendars and see what time they have available.
And he says for it makes it easy for those Iowans who’re coming into the area for the holidays and want to help. He says the site will sign you up no matter where you are in the United States. “So if they’re coming in here for just a day and would like to ring, type in Des Moines and it will hit us,” Beardsley says.
The red kettle campaign runs through Christmas and raises funds for programs throughout the rest of the year.