Elkhart County Salvation Army launches Red Kettle Campaign

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — Now that it is November, has the Christmas music started playing in your house?

The sound of jingle bells is often associated with big sleighs and the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign.

The 2023 Christmas Campaign across the county began Wednesday.

For the Salvation Army, the sound of bell ringing means it's the most wonderful time of the year for them, but also the busiest.

"Our goal as a county is to raise $750,000 through different avenues: through our Red Kettles that people see at the store, through online giving, through donor support, through other avenues, that's our goal," says Joshua Hubbard, Elkhart Salvation Army Corps Officer.

It's a goal that's going to take some time and effort to achieve.

More and more, people are forsaking cash and only carrying a debit card, making it difficult to donate to organizations like the Red Kettle campaign.

But the Salvation Army is evolving and has created a way to donate without physical coins or bills called a Tip-Tap Machine.

"They can come up to the machine, get it close, and it will give them the option of either a $5, $10, or $20 donation that they can make," say Ron Sherck, Elkhart Salvation Army Development Director.

This kind of technology has been around for a while, but the Salvation Army has only recently started using it.

Elkhart County made the investment for this season.

"In other locations across the United States where they’ve already been utilizing these machines, they have seen that increase in giving,” says Sherck.

Elkhart will have five of these machines: two of them at each Walmart store and the other at Hobby Lobby near Concord Mall.

There will be other machines in highly-trafficked areas in Goshen.

Joshua Hubbard tells me he is hoping that this new technology increases donations for the community who need it most.

"We see people need access to food, but they also need help paying their rent and paying their utilities," says Hubbard.

The Salvation Army is still looking for volunteer bell ringers. Shifts are a minimum of two hours.

You can sign up at register-to-ring dot com.