(Seguin) – One of the world’s oldest charities returns to Seguin this Friday to ensure that the season of giving continues throughout the year.
Get ready to hear those bells as you spot those bright red kettles outside the Seguin Walmart store this holiday season. That’s because the Salvation Army’s 2021 Kettle Campaign begins in a few short days.
Providing some of the history behind the program is Jennifer Elhers, one of the many Salvation Army volunteers.
“The Salvation Army actually got started in England in 1852 so it’s been around for a long time, and it was started as a mission to win souls for Christ but also they realized that in order to do that, they needed to meet the tangible needs of the people most in need so they were on the streets and in the streets serving people and it has continued that way. It started in Texas in 1889 in the Dallas area and has since expanded. It is now in 131 countries across the world and in the United States, it’s in over 7,500 centers that serve all kinds of needs — some much larger, some have the homeless shelters, lots of programs for children all kinds of things but like I said, here in Seguin, our service unit operates with basically a volunteer staff. Catherine Hughes (in Seguin) is the only paid employee, and she only works part-time so we really rely on volunteers to help us meet all those needs,” said Elhers.
Since then, that history has grown into a long-standing tradition for volunteers and families here in Seguin.
“The Kettle Campaign is a major source of our funding. We are one of the service extension units in the state of Texas. There is 250 of us and so we serve the smaller communities and about half of the income that we are then able to give out to people in need comes through what is dropped into the kettles every year. It’s a major major source of funding and the other really positive thing for us is that every coin, every dollar, every $20 that is dropped in there, stays here in Seguin to be used. So, it is a major investment, a major investment of time but it’s the way that we are able to meet the immediate needs of people,” said Elhers.
Helping to explain its direct impact here in Seguin is Katherine Hughes, again, that one and only paid employee of the local Salvation Army Unit.
“We just help people,” said Hughes. “We pray with them. We try to help with physical needs that they have. We have helped with a number of things, rent, mortgages, utilities, food, household supplies. We have even repaired a couple of cars, I think. We’ve done a number of things here, so it really helps the people. Especially now with the virus, they’ve lost their jobs. They were sort of told ‘don’t worry about the rent.’ Now, they are starting to evict people. So, it’s a real problem time for everybody so we try to help as much as we can,” said Hughes.
The emphasis of the Kettle Campaign is not only on the giving of one’s money but also on the giving of one’s time. Liz Hilsdorf, another member of the Kettle Crew, says securing volunteers to ring the bells from Nov. 26 through Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, is very important and still very much needed.
“So, we actually have where we need 12 people in a day for a two-hour interval so on those two hours, we would like two people to do each door and what’s nice is you catch people coming in and you catch people coming out and that really makes a difference for interacting with our local community and so we do like them to sign-up. They can bring their grandma. They can bring their grandkids. They can bring their neighbors. You can have 15 people there. You can dress up fun. You can bring music. You can sing without music. You can dance around – anything that bring you joy I think is wonderful and its memories that you won’t ever forget. The things that touch your heart when you volunteer so the two-hour intervals are really good,” said Hilsdorf.
Volunteers add that the red kettles in Seguin will only be found outside the Walmart store this holiday season. Smaller on the counter red kettles may also be spotted at local restaurants.
Those wishing for a time slot to volunteer may sign-up online at registertoring.com. They may also contact the Salvation Army’s cellphone at 830-865-6479.