Bells ring in the holidays

Owning sensible winter-wear isn’t a hard and fast rule of volunteering with The Salvation Army, but it certainly helps.

It was a gray Thursday afternoon outside of the Wal-Mart on North Atherton Street, where the bitter chill in the air was delivered face to face courtesy of heaping gusts of penetrating wind.

People moved quickly through the parking lot, as if a starter’s pistol had been fired the moment they opened their car doors and there was gold trophy waiting somewhere in the store’s heated indoor lobby.

That’s what made it surprising when several of Wal-Mart’s would-be customers stopped just shy of the automatic sliding doors that would take them to, if not salvation, then at least a climate controlled environment with coupons.

Maybe it was the color of the kettle, a bright, fire engine red, that caught their attention. Maybe it was the ringing of the bells triggering an almost Pavlovian response built up over years of holiday muscle memory.

Or maybe it was the smiling faces of volunteers Betty Ellen Barrett and Derek Barrett.

Whatever the reason, several people felt compelled to open their wallets and place donations through the slot of The Salvation Army’s waiting red kettle and bade the Barretts a Merry Christmas before hustling for shelter.

“People just give to The Army because they trust us,” Betty Barrett said.

Betty Barrett and her husband are envoys with The Salvation Army and in addition to their regular duties, both volunteer as bell ringers several times throughout the kettle collection season, which began on Black Friday and will continue through Christmas Eve.

Both dressed for the occasion — meaning thick coats and gloves.

In this modern day and age it seems like there should be an easier way to collect the donations that fund The Salvation Army’s local emergency assistance services, providing help with necessities like rent, mortgage and heating. Perhaps something computer-side with a cup of hot cocoa?

And of course there is.

People can make donations on The Salvation Army’s website or take advantage of the organizations new Text to Give program by texting SASTC to 41444.

It’s convenient, sure, but that would deprive Betty Barrett of the frozen-face-to-frozen-face time she enjoys with donors during kettle season.

“What we enjoy most about being out here is being able to say ‘thank you,’ ” Betty Barrett said.

Last year, The Salvation Army was able to raise nearly $57,000 locally. This holiday season, they have their eyes on a star a little higher up the tree, with a goal of $65,000.

To fill all of the kettle locations and timeslots, that means they need about 700 volunteers.

It’s easier to attract help during the weekends, but the weeks pose something of a challenge, consumed by jobs, classes and a million other obligations.

In Betty Barrett’s case, her fate always seemed to be intertwined with that of The Salvation Army. She grew up next door to one of the local branches in Waymart and a convenient stroke of geographical happenstance soon turned into a life calling.

“I just wanted to be part of an organization that helped people,” Betty Barrett said.

Her enthusiasm hasn’t faded, even 14 years later.

“We’re just so fortunate to do what we do,” Betty Barrett said.

Spouses are usually paired together within the ministry of The Salvation Army, a nice fringe benefit that also has practical applications given the scale of the work involved not just during the holiday season, but throughout the year with a summer camp and back-to-school shopping program.

Derek Barrett also has roots deep within the organization. His parents and grandparents were both Salvation Army pastors in Philadelphia and he has been bell ringing since he was 10 years old — which, as it turns out, offers him very little by way of immunity to the cold.

“Now that I’m getting older, it’s starting to bother me,” Derek Barrett said.

If it was comfort he was after, he found it in the deeper meaning behind his service, a touchstone that kept him grounded to his faith through the good works he did for others.

“The Army is like a stepstool. I serve God through The Army,” Derek Barrett said.

And so, out into the cold the husband and wife team go.

People drop varying amounts of currency into the kennel, everything from the crisp five dollar bill tucked safely in their wallets to the lose change rattling around their pockets.

Betty Barrett said that sometimes people apologize for carrying plastic instead of paper — after all, debit and credit cards leave more room for photos of the grandkids.

“We know that people give what they can give and it may not always be through a kettle,” Betty Barrett said.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Bells ring in the holidays."