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  Home Page » News » Volunteers Ring In The Holidays

Volunteers ring in the holidays

by Chuck Slothower
Herald Staff Writer Sarah Turner stood outside Wal-Mart in Durango, ringing the familiar Salvation Army bell and encouraging donations to the familiar red kettle.

Wal-Mart customers kept the kettle clanging with coins as they came and went.

The bell-ringers have become as familiar a part of Christmas shopping as Santa Claus and newspaper fliers. And for The Salvation Army, it's an important part of the organization's fundraising.

Turner was volunteering for a two-hour shift Friday in front of the store along with her golden retriever, June. A radiology technician at Mercy Regional Medical Center, Turner volunteered through a sign-up sheet at work.

“It's great just to be out here in the community," she said. Turner said it was a better experience than her snow-filled shift last year.

Melissa Lopez approached the kettle as she entered Wal-Mart with her sons Vincent, 6, and Eli, 4. Each of the boys slipped a dollar bill into the narrow-slotted container. Their mother said she wanted to encourage them to donate.

“I try to teach them to divide the money they have into saving, spending and giving to others," she said.

While the kettle clangs at Wal-Mart, bell-ringers will be absent this season from Albertsons, 311 W. College Drive. Instead, checkers at the store will ask customers if they would like to donate to The Salvation Army as they pay, said Dave Green, assistant store manager.

Green said he did not know if the ban on bell-ringers was a chain-wide policy, and Albertsons corporate offices were closed Friday.

Deanna Deveraux, who coordinates The Salvation Army's bell-ringing in Durango, said donations at Albertsons typically total about $12,000, or about 10 percent of local bell-ringing revenue.

“It's one of our biggest ringing kettles of the season," she said.

Deveraux said checkstand donations may not substitute for the money typically received by the kettles outside Albertsons.

“From what I can tell, that money is going to go directly to the national Salvation Army unit, and it will trickle down locally," she said. “So that's still going to be a $12,000 hit."

To help make up the gap, volunteers will also ring outside First National Bank of Durango.

“They're helping out," she said.

Donations to The Salvation Army fund helps people pay their rent, energy bills, prescriptions and food, she said.

Outside Wal-Mart, Turner dinged the bell incessantly as June looked on. The dog seemed to enjoy the attention, Turner said.

“She thinks it's all about her."

chuck@durangoherald.com'>chuck@durangoherald.com