Salvation Army Holiday Bell Ringing Needs Volunteers

The Cape Charles Rotary Club will participate in the Salvation Army’s Holiday Bell Ringing campaign, at the Food Lion, from November 29^th through December 4^th.  The Rotary invites community friends and neighbors to join this Holiday tradition.

If you’d like to help those less fortunate enjoy the Holiday Season, call Bill Payne at 757 390 7253.

History Note: In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome — funding the project.

Back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England, he remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, “Keep the Pot Boiling.” He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy.

Captain McFee’s kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile, and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

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Wayne Creed

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