Bells are ringing once again at Kane County grocery stores, which means the season of giving has begun
Bells have started ringing outside local grocery stores in Kane County, a jolly reminder to hopefully incite generosity until Christmas Eve.
Steven Hawkins, the resource development director for the Tri-Cities Salvation Army, says that while donations have been smaller in recent years, he hopes for a bounce back this holiday season.
Hawkins said the goal is to collect $195,000 this year. Last year, they fell short of the same goal, collecting about $155,000.
Donations made to the collection kettles help fund local programming and supplement the food pantry in St. Charles. Hawkins said almost 90% of the funds raised go to local programming, and they take pride in keeping the funds in the community.
There are 18 collection kettle locations across the area.
St. Charles resident and Salvation Army volunteer Jeff Bowgren works at the food pantry and has been donating his time to bell ringing and collecting donations for the last three holiday seasons.
Bowgren has been ringing outside the Jewel-Osco in Batavia and will be at the same spot from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday until Christmas Eve.
He rings his bells so much that they break, which has happened so many times that he now brings a toolbox to make repairs during his shifts.
Bowgren said he tries to greet everyone and make the customers happy. He said what he really loves about ringing the bell is talking to people and has no plans to stop.
“I just love doing it,” Bowgren said. “I get to make people happy and see the people I really like, and they appreciate it. So I’m going to keep going as long as I can.”
The Salvation Army has a food pantry in St. Charles. Hawkins said it served more than 10,000 people last year and is seeing more demand this year.
Hawkins said he hopes donations will ramp up after a national trend of smaller collections for the past couple of years.
“We’re hoping, with the economy hopefully bouncing back, people are able to give more,” Hawkins said.
Finding gold coins left by anonymous donors is a special tradition among the Salvation Army donation buckets in Kane County. Two coins were found last year.
Bowgren has firsthand knowledge of the holiday tradition, having found multiple gold coins in his bucket in years past. But he said he has never seen the person or persons responsible. The coins are often wrapped in paper currency, likely as a means to avoid its detection.
“They drop them in, and you don’t know until they count it up,” he said.
Hawkins said they take the coins to an appraiser, sell them and add the proceeds to the collection totals. He said last year’s coins added about $3,000 to their total.
Hawkins said they always need more bell ringers to man the 18 locations, especially for weekday shifts. He also said food donations are needed.
In addition to the donation kettles, the Salvation Army runs its Angel Tree program at different locations in Kane County, collecting donations of toys and clothing for kids. Last Christmas, the program helped 910 families, giving 5,353 toys and games and over 3,500 clothing items to 1,638 children.
The Salvation Army also hosts Match Days, where local organizations match up to $25,000 of donations collected on specific days. This year, Colonial Café has pledged to match donations on Dec. 14, and the Shodeen Family Foundation will match donations on Dec. 21.
To sign up to volunteer, visit RegisterToRing.com or call Lieutenant Joe Alvarez at (630) 377-2769 for assistance with registration. Donations also can be made online at the Salvation Army website.