Livingston County kids help raise funds for those in need! Howell, MI – For nearly 123 years The Salvation Army of Livingston County has been helping families, seniors and individuals with food, heat, rent, coats, holiday assistance and much more. Each year to help fund the programs, they host a Christmas fund-raising campaign which include the iconic red kettles and monetary donations. During this critical campaign, The Salvation Army also relies on hundreds of volunteers to help raise funds. As the giving season continues, Livingston County kids have stepped up to the task! Every year one will find over 25 Salvation Army red kettle locations which, to date this year, have had over 800 hours of volunteer help including a choir class from Hornung Elementary School. On Wednesday, December 10th the Hornung elementary school choir serenaded shoppers as they volunteered their day to help The Salvation Army of Livingston County ring bells. The children took an active part in helping choose songs and taking shifts to ring the bells all day! The children raised over $265 in their kettle! Adding to the wonderful kids in the county, the kettle season hasnt been the same without one of The Salvation Army’s youngest volunteers, Faith McDevitt. Faith McDevitt is no ordinary ten-year old; at the top of her Christmas to-do-list was to ensure that others would be taken care of this holiday season and into the New Year. She saved her change for a full year, and had volunteered to be a bell ringer for The Salvation Army of Livingston County. This excited 10 year old was looking forward to donating the funds she collected all year long and encouraging others to do the same. But, just days before her scheduled shift, Faith had to be admitted to Mott’s Children’s Hospital for an emergency surgical procedure. The timing was devastating, not only causing her to miss her bell ringing but also many Christmas events including a Christmas craft making night, her last Winterfest, an ugly sweater party and her family cookie-making day, some of the holiday traditions she looked forward to the most. All though the parties and cookie making days would be missed, there was one holiday plan she just couldnt seem to let go of: Faith insisted that she not cancel her bell ringing shift and convinced her mother, Theresa McDevitt, to call and reschedule. Upon speaking with her mother and knowing that Faith would not be discharged and fully healed in time to safely ring the bells, The Salvation Army decided to take the kettle to her! Thursday, December 11, Envoy Prezza Morrison, Corps Administrator for The Salvation Army of Livingston County, visited Faith and her mom in her hospital room. She presented Faith with the tools of the trade: a bright red bell and a mini red kettle. Faith was ecstatic that she could present The Salvation Army with a jar filled with over $100 to donate to the The Red Kettle Campaign! With the help of the youth, to date, December 15th, The Salvation Army has raised $205,186 which is 56% of their overall goal of $362,000. Compared to last year at this time, funds raised are down over $50,000. With only 1 week remaining for bell ringing The Salvation Army is asking the community to help reach our goal. · Individuals can still place their financial donation in one of the kettles, drop them off at the corps community building or place them in the mail · Individuals, families or organizations can virtual bell ring with an Online Red Kettle or donate to the Livingston County online red kettle – onlineredkettle.org · Individuals can still bell ring - The week of Christmas many kettle locations are in need of volunteers to help collect funds- register online registertoring For more information on programs or to send donations to help support programming contact our local office at 517-546-4750, visit our office at 503 Lake Street, Howell MI or mail to P.O. Box 647 Howell, MI 48844.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 17:13:22 +0000