The sound of tinkling Salvation Army bells has become more commonplace on State Street in the past week, but the Dane County Salvation Army is still short of ringers.
Only one-third of the available kettle spots were filled over Thanksgiving weekend and the effort has picked up slowly since then, according to Dane County Salvation Army Coordinator Major Paul Moore. Moore said volunteer participation in the program has been \kind of slow"" but hopefully it will accelerate as Christmas approaches and more people get into the holiday spirit.
UW-Madison students have plumped up the ranks of volunteers so far. Senior Cristine Heyroth and sophomore Erin Decker rang for two hours outside Walgreens, 676 State St., Saturday afternoon. They participated as part of a community service effort for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, an honor society. Students in their group staffed the Walgreens kettle all afternoon.
A half hour into their two-hour time slot, Heyroth and Decker said they were starting to get cold but they liked the experience so far.
""It's not like it's hard, but it's definitely for a good cause and they need people to do it,"" Heyroth said.
""I just like to people-watch,"" Decker added.
They both said they were surprised by the amount of money people put into the kettle. Heyroth said she saw several people put one- and five-dollar bills into the pot.
""I thought people mostly put in change and not actual dollars,"" she said.
Money collected from the kettle drive is put into the Dane County Salvation Army's general fund, which supports 31 programs, the biggest of which provide services to the homeless. The Salvation Army also sends out solicitation letters, which glean twice as much money as the kettle drive, Moore said.
Those interested in ringing should go to http://www.ringbells.org.
