WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — During the holidays, you normally hear Salvation Army volunteers ringing bells asking for donations, but you may not be seeing as many this year. The Salvation Army of Greensboro and the Salvation Army of Greater Winston-Salem are in desperate need of bell ringers.
Dean Browder can be found ringing the bell in front of Lowe’s Foods on Robinhood Road in Winston-Salem. For the past 20 years, he’s volunteered for the Salvation Army with the Mount Tabor United Methodist Men’s Group. He said this year’s volunteer turnout is different from years past.
“It’s a little harder this year,” Browder said. “Last year we skipped it altogether because people didn’t want to participate because of the pandemic. This year, they’re coming back and wanting to help, it’s just not as much as it was before. It’s a little harder to get the volunteers this year.”
The Greensboro location said it has half as many volunteer bell ringers compared to 2019. Major Andrew Wiley with Winston-Salem said prior to the pandemic the group had up to 300 volunteers sign up to ring bells. This year he said there are about 75 volunteers.
The money raised helps the Salvation Army of Greater Winston-Salem operate its emergency shelter, Boys and Girls Club, as well as provide Christmas gifts to more than 2,000 children in the area.
“Get a family group, get a group of coworkers and share the day so you’re not having to do it all day,” Wiley said. “You can do an hour or two and then have a friend come and take over. There are ways to do it that aren’t so overwhelming. We just need people to do it and step up and help us. We’re grateful for those that have, we just need more to do so.”
Wiley said the pandemic has pushed the organization to promote online giving and has created more ways for others to give safely. He said the organization also accepts Venmo, Google and Apple Pay at its onsite kettle locations.