Ringing in Christmas
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on December 10, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Crystal Ockerman rings a bell for The Salvation Army in front of Harris Teeter.
You hear a bell, then see the iconic red kettle. Immediately you know it's the Salvation Army raising money to help the needy of this community.
It's that time of year again when bell ringers are out in full force during the annual red kettle campaign. The fundraising drive, which started Nov. 20, will run through Christmas Eve. Bell ringers are located at Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter, Sam's Club, Carlie C's and several other places throughout the county, and man the kettles Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.
The Salvation Army hopes to top what it raised last year, $84,000, said Lt. Phillip Stokes.
"We're a little behind that where we were last year, but it's still early," he said.
The funds will help the Salvation Army not only at Christmastime, but throughout the year with its shelter program and assistance program for rent, electricity and food for those in need.
Some of the bell ringers are volunteers, while others are paid, Stokes said.
"The people that we hire do not have a job during this season," he said. "I look at it as not only are we helping some of them with Christmas assistance or food assistance throughout the year, but now we are giving them an opportunity to earn a little bit of money during the Christmas season.
"Every morning we do devotions with them, and I tell them, 'If you let the season change you, it will. Yes, you're earning a paycheck, but you will get something a whole lot more out of it by the stories people share with you. You'll be touched by the people you didn't think would give who are the ones who give first.'"
That's exactly what's happening to Crystal Ockerman.
It's her first year ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. She said it's right where she needs to be at this point in her life.
"I'm 47, and I've spent a lifetime of being self-centered and being all about me," she said. "I asked God to help me open my heart."
Ms. Ockerman said it opens her heart a little more each time someone drops a coin or bill into the kettle or shares a story with her about how the Salvation Army helped them.
"I had a lady come to Harris Teeter while I was ringing the bell one day and told me that when she and her brothers and sisters were younger, they suffered abuse at home," Ms. Ockerman said. "She said they used to find shelter, food and safety at the Salvation Army. They would hide out there."
Hearing stories like this takes Ms. Ockerman back to the time in her life when things were not so good.
"God saved my life," she said. "I was on the streets here in Goldsboro, homeless and strung out on drugs. I asked God how much longer, and he let me go through it all until I was absolutely sure of who it was setting me free, and it was him. That was a year ago."
She said everything she's been through in her life has been preparing her for this moment standing at a Salvation Army red kettle ringing the bell and greeting those passing by with a smile and "Merry Christmas."
"By the time all this is over, I'm going to be a hugely transformed person," she said.
Ms. Ockerman's story reminds Stokes of another bell ringer he had one year.
"We had a gentleman who came to us as an alcoholic who had lost everything -- his home, ties with his family," Stokes said. "He saw an ad in the paper for a bell ringer. He started coming to church and became a very active member, all because of the bell ringing program. And now he's close to his family, too."
So not only does the Salvation Army help families at Christmas with toys for their children and food for the table and others throughout the year, but it also changes the lives of the very people who man the red kettles to raise funds for these needs.
The kettle campaign began in California in 1908, Stokes said.
"A gentleman wanted to help families for Christmas," he said. "He took an old crab pot and tripod and stuck it out on the boat docks and had a bell he rang. The very next year, he started getting toys for kids by doing the same thing. It has become our biggest fundraising time of the year. I think when people hear that bell, they realize they have stuff that some people don't have, and they want to give back."
Anyone wanting to help with the red kettle campaign can call the Salvation Army at 919-735-4811, ext. 9.