Bell ringer profile: Former Division 1 football player is back in the game
Connor Kruse is a former offensive lineman for the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team. He used to be a community volunteer before the demands of school and being a Division 1 athlete consumed his life.
Now, he’s back in the volunteer game as a bell ringer for The Salvation Army.
Connor is scheduled to ring bells several times this Christmas season. His first shift took place Saturday at our Tree of Lights and Red Kettle Kickoff celebration at Rice Park in St. Paul. Sign up to ring.
“I love helping people who are in hard circumstances,” said Connor, who hails from Waconia, Minn., and now works as a financial professional. “Growing up, I was always involved in volunteer activities.”
His heart for service does not stop at bell ringing. Connor is one of the newest members of a Salvation Army young professionals group called Echelon – a national society of men and women, ages 21 to 35, who advance The Salvation Army’s mission through fundraising, volunteering, social events, and networking. The local chapter of Echelon was put on hiatus during the pandemic, and now Connor is joining the group to help revitalize it.
He discovered The Salvation Army last year after giving a donation and being invited to take a tour of one of our housing facilities for people experiencing homelessness. The tour opened his eyes to the important work of The Salvation Army.
“Helping The Salvation Army seemed like a good fit for me,” Connor said. “I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for helping people in need.”
Thousands more bell ringers like Connor are needed this Christmas season, as volunteer and kettle donation numbers still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. The Salvation Army hopes to gather enough volunteers to ring for 15,000 hours in the Twin Cities between now and Christmas Eve, but so far, less than half those hours have been scheduled.
“Volunteers are the foundation of our red kettle campaign, because a kettle with a bell ringer will raise between $80 and $100 an hour,” said Lt. Col. Randall Polsley, leader of The Salvation Army Northern Division.
Like so many other volunteers, Connor is thrilled to serve people in need by bell ringing for The Salvation Army.
“I want to help as many people as I can,” he said.
Be a Bell Ringer
This holiday season, you can Be the Light in somebody’s life by ringing bells for The Salvation Army. Sign up to ring.
Your time at a Red Kettle will be a huge help for local families who need food, shelter and care. Bell ringers typically raise up to $100 per hour – enough to feed three families for week, or help save a family from eviction.
Bell ringing is fun and easy, with hundreds of kettle locations throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. Recruit your friends, family and coworkers to join you – and let your light shine even brighter.
Thousands of volunteer bell ringers are needed. Sign up now and help The Salvation Army provide a merry Christmas for people in need.