(RNS) — The Salvation Army is kicking off its annual red kettle campaign more than two months early this year in hopes of meeting an increased need for assistance during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Salvation Army recognizes that there is literally a tsunami of human need in our country right now,” Commissioner Kenneth Hodder, national commander of the Salvation Army, told Religion News Service ahead of the campaign launch on Monday (Sept. 14). “We also recognize that our iconic red kettle campaign, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be more difficult this year.”
Traditionally starting around Thanksgiving, bell ringers have stood outside stores and beside red kettles where passersby could donate to help those in need at Christmastime.
In 2020, ringers will be trained about social distancing and provided with masks, Hodder said. Donors will be encouraged to consider making contributions by using their phones to scan a QR code in person or via a Salvation Army website.
“As a result of the fact that a number of retail stores have closed, we simply have lost the ability to place kettles at a number of places,” said Hodder, whose organization had 30,000 kettles on street corners and at retail locations last year.
Some of the people who have been donors in the past are now among those seeking assistance.
“We’ve had a dramatic increase in the number of people who…
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