Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The holiday spirit was definitely in the air Friday, November 15 as the Clarksville Salvation Army kicked off their Red Kettle campaign along with the Angel Tree program. Dozens of Salvation Army supporters gathered at Kroger on Madison Street to help ring in the holiday season.
The bell ringers will be at local businesses from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. each day until December 24. The Red Kettle campaign over the holidays is the largest fundraising effort by the Salvation Army each year and helps support their many programs throughout the year as well as the homeless shelter.
Lieutenant Christopher Coulson with the Salvation Army encouraged members of the community to sign up to volunteer and ring bells. “We want you to be a part of it. It’s very easy. You can go to www.ringbells.org, choose a Clarksville location, and sign up for any of the 4,000 shifts available and we would love your support,” said Coulson.
When you see and hear a volunteer bell ringer and a red kettle please give what you can to help spread holiday cheer. Bell ringers can be found at all three Kroger’s and K-Mart locations as well as Governors Square Mal in Clarksville. The day after Thanksgiving, bell ringers will be at the three Clarksville Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club.
The Salvation Army recently held their sign-ups for the Angel Tree program and 875 families with 1,840 children are seeking support over the Christmas season. A total of 3,392 people including angels and anyone else in the household have asked for help.
You can help a child this Christmas by stopping by one of the Angel Tree locations and pick one or more of the paper angels off of the tree. The angel has information on it about a local child in need. Buy toys and/or clothing from the information on the angel and return the gifts and the angel to the Angel Tree location.
Also keep in mind the Salvation Army Family Store at 210 Kraft Street and the Salvation Army Food Pantry. The family store accepts donations of gently used items that can be sold with the money going to support local programs. The food pantry is always in need of non perishable food items for those at the homeless shelter and for the community.
To find out more about how you can help the Salvation Army with the Red Kettle campaign, Angel Tree program, or other community programs visit www.salvationarmycvlarksville.com or call 931-552-5350.