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On Tuesday afternoon, the Rotary Club met at the Kirbo Center for their weekly meeting. Club president Tommie Howell took to the podium for the regular club announcements, after which the day’s guest speaker addressed the group.

Salvation Army Director Merreann McDonald gave a presentation on The Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff. The kickoff will start on Saturday, November 16. McDonald talked about her experience as a temporary seasonal employee as a Red Kettle Coordinator for the 2018 Christmas season right after Hurricane Micheal. She also explained the background of “Why do we ring the Salvation Army bell?” She stated, “The answer is really simple, because we care. We care about people. We care about others. We care about our community, and this is a way for every person from every demographic to give back to our community.”

Furthermore, she discussed the record disaster season, the financial strain and the divisive election that has affected America. Despite the issues, The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign is generosity approachable and accessible for everyone to lend a hand and help others.

McDonald showed pictures of the many families and community members who have volunteered with The Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff. She wants to offer many people the ability to help others and make family memories for the holiday.

She also spoke about her recent deployment on two hurricane recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, for a total of 25 days outside of Decatur County on two different deployments. She stated, “There was a lot of devastation down there, but that’s the ‘why’, that’s the big ‘why we need to be prepared to go’, because last year’s kettle season and a really good staff puts me in a position that I can walk out the door and know that it’s going to be okay. I have an outstanding advisory board that will get up there and take care of things, if it needs to be taken care of.”   

Afterwards, McDonald explained last year the Salvation Army raised $64,961.08 in the red kettles, and they received $8,372.50 through other Christmas donations. Every dollar that was raised in the community stays with the community. Mary Ann stated the funds are a good opportunity to help the people in the community who need help with food, or with rent who are facing eviction, and utilities bills that are disconnected. Volunteers are needed to support the community. There are three businesses that are going to host Red Kettles: Walmart, Belk, and Rural King. It will be 33 days ringing the bell which is six days a week for two hours. Last year, there were 389 volunteers for four red kettles that gave 1079 hours. McDonald encourages people to volunteer. To sign up to volunteer, you can call the Salvation Army office and set up a time or you can go to https://www.registertoring.com/.