The gifts have been opened, festivities have been celebrated, and a new year has begun. The little red bells of The Salvation Army that rang loud and proud for six weeks across Brazos County are now put away for another year.
On Nov. 9, 2018, Captain Paul Ryerson, Commanding Officer of The Salvation Army Bryan/College Station stood at a podium in the middle of Post Oak Mall announcing the goal for the 2018 Red Kettle Campaign fundraising season. “Two hundred thousand dollars is our goal for this season,” he shared. “We need that amount to run the services and programs we offer and I know the public will get us there.”
Not only was the goal set forth before the public, it was also announced the same day by Captain Analese Ryerson that the largest number of Angels through the local Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program would be taking place as well. “ Two thousand ninety six children through our Angel Tree Program will get to experience the joys of opening a present under the tree on Christmas morning,” she said. “It is that little piece of Christmas magic that we all get to be a part of.”
All across Bryan College Station, it was likely that you ran into a Salvation Army bell ringer, could hear the sounds of the bell in the distance, or overheard someone talking about volunteering for the Red Kettle Campaign. In 2018, volunteers and volunteer groups covered 1,660 hours during the bell ringing season with each volunteer or volunteer group averaging 3.76 hours per volunteer from Nov. 10 through Dec. 24.
“Volunteers are essential to our Christmas efforts,” says Ryerson. “It doesn’t matter if it was at one of our Red Kettles or Angel Tree Program, when the call for help was made, the community answered it.”
When all of the donations from the kettles and online giving had been counted and tallied, a grand total was finally reached.
“Two hundred thousand dollars was the original goal,” Ryerson reminds us. “We are happy to report that through the generosity of our community, our total for 2018 Red Kettle Campaign is $208,447.27.”
The Salvation Army of Bryan College Station says they would like to thank all of the volunteers, donors, supporters, and everyone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for helping them make the Christmas season such a great success. The support that was witnessed was simply amazing as the community rallied to “Do The Most Good” in the Brazos Valley. If you missed out on donating during the Christmas season, you may still do so through the Salvation Army office or online at www.salvationarmybcs.org.
