8th Annual Andy Pepper Bell Ringing Marathon
Andy Pepper held his 8th annual bell ringing marathon on November 28th this year to help raise funds and awareness for the Kalamazoo Salvation Army. Andy rang bells for an amazing 18-hours, starting at 6am and finishing at midnight. He began his day ringing bells at Sweetwater’s donut mill, a Kalamazoo staple and great supporter of the Salvation Army. Owner, Trish Garner has created a one-of-a-kind Andy Pepper hot cocoa donut and will be selling them for the next two weeks, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Salvation Army. While Sweetwater’s has been doing this for the past couple of years, there is a special twist this year. A golden ticket will be baked into three of the Andy Pepper donuts, one at each Sweetwater’s location. The lucky winner of the golden tickets will receive some amazing Sweetwater’s swag, along with a tour for four to the Reindeer Ranch here in Kalamazoo.
From Sweetwater’s Andy made six more stops throughout the day, including Harding’s Woodbridge, Hobby Lobby on West Main, Blaine’s Farm and Fleet, Sam’s Club, D&W on Parkview, and ended his night at the Walmart on Shaver Rd. Andy was joined by multiple guests throughout the day. Buster the Bronco from WMU, Kwings famous mascot Slappy, and the Kalamazoo Growlers Porter! Later in the day Zach Terrell, WMU’s all-time leading passer, stopped by and presented Andy with a check for the Salvation Army from Harold Zeigler’s Drive for life foundation. Last, but not least Captain American and Batgirl from the Cosplay Crusaders stopped by to help ring some bells. A big thank you to Andy Pepper and the News Channel 3 team for all that they did to make the marathon happen! We look forward to another fun time next year.