The 5th Day of Christmas

On the 5th Day of Christmas, We gave 5 G-o-l-d-e-n Coins. How many times have you dug around in the bottom of your purse for some change to drop in the Salvation Army's Red Kettle? I can't even begin to count, but every time I drop a coin or give some to the W's, I always wonder how much money could they possibly raise in those little red kettles. How about $100 million!?! That's what the Salvation Army is hoping to raise this year from coins and small bills during it's Red Kettle Campaign. They raised $118 million last year. Most of those bell ringers volunteer their time to stand out in the cold ringing those bells in the hopes that folks like us will drop a few coins in their bucket for the Salvation Army. In some areas, it is difficult to find volunteers , so paid bell-ringers are recruited from homeless shelters and halfway houses. They are paid minimum wage and many have been the recipient of the charity's donations.

A Salvation Army captain from San Francisco started the 1st kettle fundraiser in 1891 and by 1897 the program was nationwide. That year, it helped to provide Christmas meals to more that 100,000 people. The story of William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army in 1865 is fascinating in itself, but the 8,000 salvation Army locations, 3 million volunteers and the nearly 30 million people a year who are assisted by this charity is staggering. It is the 2nd largest charity in America. A fact that is truly astounding when you consider that it isn't based here but in London.

So today, on the 5th Day of Christmas, we took 5 gold coins, found us a bell-ringer and dropped them his little red kettle. He told us thank you and we offered the same to him. He then, whistled Jingle Bells for us and in quiet voice, offered a "God Bless You, Merry Christmas."