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Over $65K raised for Salvation Army at Kettle Kickoff
Kettle Kickoff 1
Attendees at Tuesday’s Kettle Kickoff luncheon ring their bells and wave money in the air for one of the Kettle Klash teams to collect. The luncheon launched the Salvation Army’s annual red kettle holiday fundraising campaign (KRISTINA HACKER/The Journal).

It’s that time of year again where the weather cools down, Christmas lights and trees are put on display and silver bells start ringing in front of stores throughout the country.

Tuesday morning marked the official start of bell ringing season for the Salvation Army Turlock Corp. as its 27th annual Kettle Kickoff luncheon at the Grand Oak Banquet Hall and Event Center welcomed over 440 community members.

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Members of the Charity Bells Kettle Klash team collect money from luncheon attendees (KRISTINA HACKER/The Journal).

By the event's end, the crowd raised $65,929 as part of the Kettle Klash competition led by honorary bell ringer Melba Miyamoto, vice president of Yosemite Farm Credit. The Kettle Klash saw six teams try to fill their kettles with as many donations from attendees as possible in only five minutes. The figure smashed the organization’s goal of collecting $60,000.  

This winter, Turlock’s Salvation Army also hopes to surpass last year’s mark of $53,236.04 raised at the kettles located in front of stores in the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

“These are quarters. It's change. It's dollar bills. It's $5 bills. To raise that much, it just tells me that this total community is really quite amazing. They come together to do a good for those in need,” said guest speaker Major Darren Norton, Salvation Army’s Divisional Commander for the Golden State Division. “This red kettle that we see around is iconic. It's really an iconic symbol of what it means to be compassionate, to be generous to your neighbor and to help people in need.”

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Students from Walnut Elementary School sing “Silver Bells” at Tuesday’s Kettle Kickoff luncheon (KRISTINA HACKER/The Journal).

Norton also stressed the importance of spreading the word about ways to donate to the Salvation Army, as there has been a gradual shift from in-person to online shopping during the holiday season.

“The kettles at the stores have been a challenge for the Salvation Army in the last 10, 15 years. Our store income for kettles after 100 plus years is now on the downward spiral… Because more people shop at home, there are less people at the stores and less people seeing and donating. And we're living in a much more cashless society and people just have credit cards and don't have cash to put in for the kettles. But this is a reminder to the community that the Salvation Army is still here. We're still serving.”

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Honorary bell ringer Melba Miyamoto from Yosemite Farm Credit gets the Kettle Klash started at Tuesday’s luncheon to benefit the Turlock Salvation Army as Capt. Jeffrey Breazeale looks on (KRISTINA HACKER/The Journal).

On average, the Turlock Salvation Army has about nine kettles set up in front of local businesses around Turlock, Denair and Hilmar. To combat the decrease in donations due to online shopping and cashless pay at stores, kettles will once again offer the option to donate through touchless payment company Tip Tap, which allows for instant, paperless payments.

Those interested in bell ringing this winter can get started by going to Volunteer.USAWest.org, calling the Salvation Army Turlock Corps. at (209) 667-6091 or by reaching out to Capt. Jeff Breazeale through email at jeffrey.breazeale@usw.salvationarmy.org.