One of the familiar signs of the upcoming holiday season is the sound of a ringing bell accompanied by the sight of a Salvation Army bell ringer at a red kettle. In just two weeks, The Salvation Army’s red kettles will be out in force at store entrances and street corners throughout the community. The season will kick off Monday, Nov. 18, with a short program at the Dakota Square Mall, starting at 4 pm.

This year’s Red Kettle goal in Minot is nearly $70,000 and is a critical element to The Salvation Army’s overall holiday fundraising campaign, as roughly two-thirds of the organization’s funding is raised in the last three months of the year. Kettle donations are essential to help provide struggling families with food, housing and financial assistance throughout the year, according to The Salvation Army.

After several years of declining kettle revenues due to COVID-19 and harsher than normal weather, kettle volunteers and revenues were stronger in 2023. Both volunteer and revenue numbers partially rebounded but have not yet returned to pre-pandemic numbers, The Salvation Army reported.

The organization’s goal is to register enough volunteers to ring for 1,000 hours, but thus far the organization reports only 326 hours have been reserved. Contact The Salvation Army in Minot for details on how to sign up as a bell ringer.

“Volunteers are the foundation of our red kettle campaign, because a kettle with a bell ringer will raise between $80 and $100 an hour — enough to feed three families for a week,” said division commander Lt. Col. Randall Polsley in a news release. “All the analysis we’ve done confirms that a kettle without a ringer collects no donations, so volunteering as a bell ringer makes all the difference.”

Due to inflation and stagnant wage growth, two-thirds of Americans now report living paycheck to paycheck. In addition, 8,000 North Dakota households are behind on their rent by an average of $1,100 and are at risk of eviction, according to statistics cited by The Salvation Army.

“As more and more people come to The Salvation Army for help, we in turn rely on volunteer bell ringers for their help at this most important time of year,” said Sophie Crowell, volunteer relations director.

Last year, The Salvation Army tested a new digital payment technology at several dozen kettle locations in the Twin Cities, and they will be expanding the use of Tap To Give devices this year. The devices are designed to allow kettle donors to make a gift for as little as $5 with a quick 2-second tap of their chipped credit card or smart phone.

“Many people no longer carry cash with them, and with Tap To Give, we’ve made it incredibly easy to quickly make a small donation at the red kettle,” Polsley said.

The kettle tradition started in San Francisco in 1891 when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee collected coins in a kettle to fund a Christmas dinner for the poor and destitute. The idea spread and, today, that tradition continues throughout the world.