The Salvation Army kicked off its Red Kettle Campaign on Monday at City Hall. The campaign has become synonymous with the holidays and will have a national profile on Thanksgiving during the NFL games.

Locally, volunteers stand outside area stores and collect money from passersby.

Each year, employees from the Times-Journal spend an entire day dedicated to ringing the bells and collecting money for the Salvation Army.

It’s a part of the holidays we all enjoy and volunteering with the Salvation Army is a small way to give back.

In Selma, it’s always encouraging to see all of the people willing to give and that money goes a long way toward helping those in need throughout the year.

The program only works because volunteers are willing to give up their time in order to lend a helping hand.

“Volunteers are the key to making this program work because if we don’t have volunteers, then we do have to hire people, and once we hire people we have to pay them, so that takes out of our money that we raise,” said Monique Brech, director at the Salvation Army Service Center in Selma.

We encourage anyone with a little free time to consider volunteering for the Salvation Army this year. It’s a great way to give back and it only takes a few hours.

Anyone interested in donating or volunteering their time to ring the bells for the Salvation Army can call 874-1646 or contact Henry Allen at 407-8746.