Programs & Services

Holiday Assistance

Red Kettle Program

Ring Bells At A Salvation Army Red Kettle Location

Click here to volunteer or call Will Hale, Director of Volunteer Services & Special Events, at 423-756-1023 ext. 1102.

The Salvation Army Red Kettle program, dating back to 1891, provides a critical cornerstone of support for all Salvation Army community centers and service centers. Funds raised provide year-round services such as emergency food, after-school programs, computer training, youth athletics, character-building programs, and nutrition and social programs for seniors.

You can help by:

Covering a three-hour shift at one of the kettle locations
Hosting a Red Kettle Day in your company lobby, cafeteria, church entry, or other high-traffic area
Hosting a online Red Kettle by registering at www.onlineredkettle.org

Host A Red Kettle Day At Your Company Or Organization

Your company, church or organization can make it easy and convenient for your employees or members to help less fortunate citizens in our community by hosting an on-site Red Kettle Day. The event is both fun and personally rewarding for those who participate.

To increase excitement and participation, it is recommended that you give people the opportunity to sign up for shifts to ring a bell at the Red Kettle.

The Salvation Army will supply the Red Kettle with stand, a handheld bell, and aprons that say, "I Am a Volunteer for The Salvation Army."

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.

National Red Kettle Kickoff - A Thanksgiving Day Tradition

Since 1997, the Dallas Cowboys have brought The Salvation Army's national Red Kettle Kickoff to national television during halftime of the annual Thanksgiving Day game. The spectacular event officially launches The Salvation Army's holiday fundraising drive.

The Kettle Kickoff is showcased during the special holiday game to draw attention to the 20,000 kettles that appear across the country each November, and to encourage the American public to give something extra to those in need while buying holiday gifts for friends and family.

"Our Thanksgiving Day half-time shows have become a very visible part of the holiday tradition at Texas Stadium," says Dallas Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones. "With the visibility of the Dallas Cowboys and The Salvation Army, we are able to invite the world into our home and offer an invitation for millions of people to make a difference in the lives of so many."