Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid zip code

Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid zip code

Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid zip code

Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid zip code
Oconee County Red Kettle Campaign Image

Oconee County Red Kettle Campaign

Love Beyond Christmas

Donate Now

Oconee County Red Kettle Campaign

 

The sound of ringing bells is an iconic symbol of the Christmas Season. The Red Kettle Campaign is the primary fundraiser for The Salvation Army in Oconee County supporting our year round efforts to give hope in times of crisis.

When Is The Red Kettle Campaign?

In Oconee County, our bells begin ringing in early November and ring until Christmas Eve. We ring Monday through Saturday and times vary from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

 

How Are The Funds Used?

All funds raised in our kettles benefit residents of Oconee County through assistance with utilities, rent, clothing, food, and a variety of other ways.

 

Where Do The Bells Ring?

Oconee County bells ring in West Union, Westminster and Seneca at businesses such as Ingles, Hobby Lobby, Belk, Food Lion, Walmart and other stores. Thanks to our corporate agreements with national retailers, we have the opportunity to ring approximately 3,000 hours during this season. But each year we fall short in covering those hours simply because we need more volunteers!

 

Who Can Ring Bells?

Anyone with a heart for giving can ring a bell! Our volunteer ringers are the backbone of the campaign and are the true unsung HEROES to those we assist during a crisis.

Are you part of a one of these:

  • Families
  • Schools
  • Local Celebrities
  • Scout Organizations
  • Church Groups
  • HOAs
  • Pageant Queens
  • Industries
  • First Responders
  • Bowling Leagues
  • Motorcycle Clubs
  • Government Offices
  • Civic Organizations
  • Medical Workers
  • Dance Schools
  • Realty Groups

If your group has five or more members, we need you! Help us ring bells to Love Beyond Christmas!

How Can I Volunteer Myself Or My Group?

Just click on the button below for more information and to sign up!

Volunteer

How Can My Business Get Involved?

If you are a local business and would be willing to sponsor a kettle at one of our sites, please click on the button below for more information.

Find Out More

Is Bell Ringing Work Or Play?

Click on the button below to see our gallery of bell ringers having a great time ringing bells!

Gallery

Can I Donate Online Or By Text?

Donations to Oconee County can be made online by clicking the button below.

Donate

Donations can also be made by texting the word KETTLES to 41444 and selecting Oconee County.

Red Kettle History

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project. Where would the money come from, he wondered.

He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years.

Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods. Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.