Sedalia Salvation Army has put out a call for bell ringers to work outside of Walmart, JCPenney and Woods West through the holiday season between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“These next couple of weeks are crunch-time,” Magen Hudson with the Salvation Army said. “We're needing volunteers to ring bells for us outside of JCPenney, Walmart, Woods West. We’re also needing people to help us out here to give out Christmas toys and Christmas food and kind of get all that organized. We’ll start distributing the Christmas boxes Dec. 13, so we have just over a week to kind of get those ready.”
Sedalia Salvation Army also needs volunteers at its headquarter, 1200 E. Broadway Blvd., to sort food boxes and accept non-perishable goods.
“Canned goods, non-perishables, green beans, corn, box potatoes, noodles, stuff that we can fill in those Christmas boxes to go with a ham or turkey,” Hudson said. “We're also taking donations of toys. Bring new gifts for ages 0 to 17 and drop off here at the Salvation Army or we have locations at Menards and Walmart where they're collecting as well.”
People may drop off items at the Salvation Army or put cans and non-perishable items in the barrel by the check-out at Save-A-Lot, 3040 W. Broadway Blvd.
“We're also asking for monetary donations from people who can donate money or checks,” Hudson said. “That helps us to be able to go out and buy any additional food or toys that we may need at the last minute.”
Any extra funds are used in 2022 for emergency financial assistance to help with utility bills, rental assistance, and prescriptions. Hudson said it's crucial they get the funds raised as this is their one fundraiser of the year and they depend on it for the whole following year.
Carl McCallum is a coordinator with the Sedalia Salvation Army and helps coach volunteers during this time of need. He said the volunteers’ efforts are greatly appreciated.
“We do this year-round,” McCallum said. “We’re passing out food boxes, we're giving out coats, blankets, hygiene items. The demand is high all year round, but it’s tripled at Christmas time because people are more susceptible to getting in trouble at Christmas time.”
Volunteers get the heartwarming feeling of helping those in need during the holiday season and there are tasks available for every level of involvement.
“We've lost a few of our long-term volunteers to health problems,” McCallum said. “We're needing some extra hands for the next few months marking out barcodes, packing food boxes, taking them out to the client’s cars. It's really rewarding to help people that are needing that food and it's nice to see first-hand who it's going to. There's something for everyone to do. If you're not able to really lift very much or can only sit, we've got things you can work on just from a table or chair so there's something for everybody.”
Volunteering to ring a bell for two hours can feed a family for two weeks and all funds raised stay in Pettis County.
To volunteer as a bellringer, to donate food or new toys, or to help in any way at the Sedalia Salvation Army, call Hudson or McCallum at 660-826-1525 or contact them through Facebook.com/tsasedalia.
