By John Simpson

Reporter

The Rotary Club of Bainbridge met for their weekly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 29, to discuss their plans for the upcoming holiday season fundraising campaign. Speaker Stacey Warren from the Salvation Army discussed the many ways that the organization helps families in need.

Through donations, the Salvation Army helped 1500 people over the past year and handed out over 750 school supplies here in Decatur County. The Salvation Army supplies families with anything from clothes and food all the way to financial support.

“We also went to camp.” Said Warren while talking about the Salvation Army’s involvement over the past year. “We take 12-15 students from our community to Camp Grandview, which is a property owned by Salvation Army in Jasper, Georgia.”

The camp functions like a vacation bible school for children aged 6-12 that would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend a camp.

The main topic of discussion however was the raising of money through their Red Kettle campaign. Which, as you may know it, are the bell ringers that stand outside of businesses collecting money from people who pass by.

“When people think of the Salvation Army, they think of a little red kettle.” Warren said.

This year Rotarian Charles Tyson is the head of the Salvation Army’s Christmas committee in Bainbridge. He has set what he calls an “attainable goal” of $50,000 after the campaign was able to raise over $35,000 last year.

Warren noted that every penny of the money that is raised by the Red Kettle campaign will stay in Bainbridge.

Tyson was able to partner with many businesses around Bainbridge to get their support in sponsoring a kettle called Fill the Kettle.

The Salvation Army is planning on ringing the bells for a total of 1093 hours this season, which creates 552 opportunities for anyone to volunteer to ring the bells. 

Warren also told Rotarians about the Georgia Power Share Program, which pairs Georgia Power with the Salvation Army in a joint fundraising effort. The program allows Georgia Power customers in Decatur County to make a donation to the Salvation Army through their power bill, which is then matched in value by Georgia Power, and allocated back to Decatur County to be put to use for those in financial need. The program is open to anyone who wishes to donate, not just Rotary members.