Salvation Army Locations Conjure Creative Christmas Efforts

The Christmas Campaigns of the following Salvation Army locations in Minnesota and North Dakota went beyond collecting money at red kettles. Their efforts also included Christian outreach, camping in the cold, fire department competitions and much more.

Fargo
Captains Adam and Deannie Moore

● Firefighters in Fargo and neighboring Moorhead were challenged to see which department could raise the most money bell ringing in one day. Local Papa Murphy’s pizza stores partnered for the event, which raised $8,000 in four hours.

● An anonymous donor plopped a one-ounce gold coin worth $850 into a red kettle on Nov. 16. The coin drew national attention and was later auctioned off during a radiothon held at a local coin collecting store.

● In the last three years the Fargo Salvation Army has gone from 12 percent kettle volunteers to 62 percent. Businesses and organizations such as Thrivent Financial, North Dakota State University and others have taken bell ringing locations for days at a time – even an entire bell ringing season. Much of the increase is due to the Fargo Salvation Army giving community members free tours of its facilities, called “Beyond the Kettle” tours.

● Logged 32 hours of local media time, including Captain Moore guest hosting a radio program three hours a day for four straight days.

Grand Forks
Envoys Michael and Kris Fuqua

● A bell ringing competition pitted the local television station against the local newspaper. The event garnered tons of media coverage and raised $10,268 in kettle donations.

● A group of local radio stations sponsored a full day of broadcasting at a local convenience store for a Salvation Army fund-raiser called “The Big Ring”. The store owner donated 5 cents per gallon of gasoline sales. Matching gifts from other sources amounted to 60 cents for every gallon of gas pumped. A large red kettle was placed outside for drive-by donations.  The event raised about $12,000.

● The two local high school hockey teams raised $3,000 bell ringing before a series of games between the Universities of Minnesota and North Dakota.

St. Paul Citadel
Captains Bob and Lisa Mueller

● Held a community Christmas party on Dec. 25 that was attended by 145 people. The event was put on by 65 volunteers of the St. Andrews Lutheran Church. A short Christmas program featured guest speakers, caroling and Christmas gifts for children.

● Served 520 meals during a Christmas Breakfast. Gave out 400 hats and gloves, and the King of Kings Youth Group gave out 400 shoe boxes of love.

● Forty-five children from Citadel’s Child Development Center and After-School Enrichment Program put on a Christmas musical for 170 of the children's relatives and friends. The children shared the salvation message in a beautiful, simple and thought-provoking way. Each child was given a stuffed animal gift. Citadel has been working on building relationships with local families, who were also invited to its weekly Thursday Night Dinner Club that was attended by 160 people.

St. Cloud
Majors Manuel and JoAnne Madrid

● Participated in a two-hour radiothon on KASM 1159 AM that raised $6,000 for Christmas toys.

● 98 Country Radio deejays Chris Chapman and Kelly Gorr spent 24 hours at Cashwise Foods filling a Metro Bus with 3,420 pounds of food.

Coon Rapids
Majors Terry and Rhoda Wilds

● Sponsored a “Shop with a Cop/Firefighter” program in which 42 children were given a $50 gift card to shop for relatives at a local Wal-Mart. The kids shopped with 35 police, firefighter and other volunteers. The kids later wrapped the gifts at the Harvest Salvation Army in Coon Rapids. 

● Sponsored a community Christmas party attended by 215 people. A ham and scalloped potato dinner was followed by a Christmas magic show. After the show, 125 children received a gift from The Salvation Army and Santa Claus.

● Major Wilds participated in a Kettle Sing-a-thon at the Coon Rapids Wal-Mart on Dec. 22 and sang from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  He raised more than $700.

Bismarck/Mandan
Majors Dale and Sharon Hale

● On Dec. 22, four local fire departments bell rang and competed to see who could raise the most money. In Bismarck, the rural firefighters took the north Super Wal-Mart, while the city firefighters took the South Wal-Mart. In Mandan, the rural firefighters took the Central Market grocery, and the city firefighters took Dan's Market. Over $4,300 was raised.

Albert Lea
Captains Jim and Lynnea Brickson

● Partnered with a local radio station whose DJ spent 20 hours a day outside in the cold until the public donated 5,000 pounds of food to The Salvation Army. The stunt ended up raising 8,000-plus pounds of food.

● Set up a soup stand outside the Hy-Vee grocery store. Gave out free soup all day to community members to raise awareness about The Salvation Army.

Hibbing
Majors Jonathon and Linda Fjellman

● The staff and management of the local Wal-Mart bell rang often, and the manager let the Hibbing Salvation Army bell ring at both of its doors instead of just one. “When you’re in a small town and some stores say you can't ring there anymore, another store saying ‘take another door at our store’ makes a difference,” Major Jonathon Fjellman said. In addition, the Wal-Mart manager said he will become a Salvation Army board member.

● The mayor of Hibbing volunteered at red kettles and helped distribute Christmas goods. “You should see the people react when they have the mayor helping them to load up their Christmas goods!” Major Jonathon Fjellman said. As other volunteers distributed Christmas goods, one of the people receiving assistance said, "I've been watching your people as you give out your Christmas assistance and I have never seen such loving service to people in my life!"

Brainerd Lakes
Captains Brian and Heidi Reed

● The Lodge, an indoor water park, donated 10 percent of its income from passes and food during the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Christmas.

● Edina Realty bell rang for a day and matched all donations, an effort that raised $5,000.

Duluth
Administrators Alan and Tonya Carlson

● Sponsored the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs hockey game Nov. 17; Pioneer National Bank gave away 700 piggy banks at the contest.

Willmar
Administrators Randy and Debbie Stahl

● Partnered with the local mall for the “Spruce Up a Life” program, which gave away 11 decorated Christmas trees to people in need.

Minneapolis Temple
Captains Kevin and Bettie Cedervall

● Held a community Christmas dinner the Sunday before Christmas. Salvation Army church members prepared the meal and invited everybody they could. The event was a huge success and grows larger every year.