Salvation Army worries thieves who stole red kettles in NC will pose as bell ringers
The Salvation Army is worried thieves may pose as bell ringers after the charity says several of its donation buckets were stolen in North Carolina.
Six empty red kettles, along with bells and aprons, went missing from several places around Winston-Salem, according to Spectrum News.
The kettles were stolen on Monday from Walmart, Hanes Mall, Hobby Lobby and A.C. Moore, according to WGHP.
“It’s pretty disappointing and pretty weird,” Maj. Jim Rickard, Salvation Army area commander, told WFMY. “I’ve never had that happened to me in all my years at the Salvation Army.”
The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign raises money to provide shelter and food to those in need, Christmas toys for children and “social service programs to millions of people in need year-round,” the website says.
Last year, the charity raised over $142 million, according to the website.
Now the Salvation Army is worried whoever stole the buckets, bells and aprons will try to pose as a bell ringer.
“I can only envision they are thinking about using it to hoodoo the public and get somebody to donate to them,” Rickard told WGHP.
But there are other ways to tell if a bell ringer is official.
To be an official ringer, they have to be standing next to a tripod, according to WGHP, and will be outside “established businesses.”
“We don’t ring on Sundays. We don’t ring on Thanksgiving Day, but after that, we are ringing up till about 8 o’clock at night in the area,” Rickard told WFMY.
Additionally, the buckets will be labeled with Salvation Army stickers, WGHP reported.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Salvation Army worries thieves who stole red kettles in NC will pose as bell ringers."
