Ring the Bell

What a beautiful day to ring the bell! Throughout my life I have been told the story about how my grandpa had always supported the Salvation Army because when he was in Korea the Salvation Army always gave stuff to those serving for free when other organizations would charge for the same items. He and and his friends always felt that it wasn’t right that others charged when they were certain that people back home had donated those items under the impression that they would be given to the soldiers who were serving. As an adult, I learned that the Salvation Army has very little of their income that goes toward administrative costs. It is in fact one of the lowest of the organizations out there.

Both of these facts have led me to want to support Salvation Army as much as possible. Well, those facts and also the fact that we rarely passed a red bucket with a ringing bell without putting something in when I was a child. Sometimes it was pocket change and sometimes my sister and I would get a whole dollar to put in.

While ringing the bell on a beautiful winter day outside of Shopko in Powell, WY, I was reminded of how great the community is that we live in. The vast majority of people felt inclined to donate, and just as when I was a kid there was everything from quarters to $20 bills that went in that bucket. And just as when I was a kid, every amount was just as important as another.

I was also reminded about how lucky we are to have so many people supporting our local businesses. While Shopko may be a larger corporate business, the fact remains that it hires local people and provides a variety of items that we would otherwise need to drive miles to purchase. I was only there for an hour on a Friday afternoon, but the number of people in and out of the store was amazing. I can only hope that our community continues to support our local businesses, as well as important charities such as Salvation Army.

Have a Merry Christmas! Enjoy the season and all it has to offer!!