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‘They’ve got their minds on other things’

Reporter spends an afternoon with a Salvation Army bell ringer outside London Drugs at Brentwood mall
kettle bell
Beverly Blanchard is a bell ringer for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Drive. Newsroom intern Evan Hagedorn joined Blanchard for a shift outside the London Drugs at Brentwood Town Centre to find out more about life as a volunteer and what motivates Blanchard to give back to the Salvation Army

As a bell ringer for the Salvation Army Kettle Drive there are only two rules to follow: the kettle must never be left unattended, and, of course, you must always keep a smile on your face.

For some, the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Drive is a key part of the holiday season, when the ringing of those sleigh bells can make anyone realize the holidays are near.

The Salvation Army is much more than its Kettle Drive. For Beverly Blanchard, the organization is the reason she is living a comfortable life after her husband passed away in 2007.

“If it wasn’t for Salvation Army, I would’ve been homeless,” said Blanchard, who lived in the Salvation Army-run Grace Mansion after her husband’s death. Now in her 60s, Blanchard, is giving back to the same organization that saved her, by working as a bell ringer.

When I joined Blanchard last Tuesday, it was noon, and her fourth shift was just beginning. Dressed in a festive sweater fit for the holidays, Blanchard stood outside the London Drugs in Brentwood Town Centre to shake the bells.

Though you might think mallgoers would be generously ripping their wallets open to donate to help run services for the less fortunate in their community, you might think wrong, as this time of day may have not been the best, according to Blanchard.

“They’re just too busy, they’ve got their minds on other things,” Blanchard said about the amount of donations that were coming in, adding that some passersby just don’t have the money to donate.

Another possibility is that most shoppers don’t seem to carry money with them. One donor even came up to us saying, “I’m a debit girl” after she donated a loonie. 

Bells constantly ringing, Blanchard and I talked about her move from Edmonton to Vancouver in the late ’70s, though our chat was constantly being interrupted by the “hellos” to mallgoers from Blanchard. Most just walked past without a hello, but this didn’t seem to bother her.

“People think I say hello to get them to donate, but I’m just trying to be nice,” Blanchard said. “If they’re going by, I might as well say hello.”

As the shift progressed, I asked Blanchard if I could use the bells for bit. Her response? “No, it’s fine.” (Possibly they were too precious to her or I couldn’t be trusted, though I eventually found a second pair to use.)

The bells did eventually leave both of our possession as a children’s choir began to set up across from us. Just as they began to play, the conductor ran over to borrow our sleigh bells for their performance of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. After their performance, they were returned.

Let’s just hope not letting the bells leave our possession was a third rule we weren’t told to follow.

A longstanding tradition

The Kettle Drive dates back to San Francisco in 1891, when Joseph McFee, a young captain, set a kettle on the docks to collect money for the less fortunate under the slogan “keep the pot boiling.” He raised enough money to host a homeless dinner. 

Now, in 2017, the organization has grown and still holds the kettle drives during the Christmas season while offering services like meals and shelters in 124 countries and  helping people in need.