Ringing the Bell for the Less Fortunate in South Brunswick

It is a true sign of the holiday season each year, the dedicated volunteers of the Salvation Army who give of their time to brave cold temperatures while ringing bells and collecting money for the less fortunate.  However, two of the volunteers who help the bell ringing program run smoothly in South Brunswick are stepping down and new volunteers are sought to help.  

The program, which runs from late November through December each year, requires a dedicated volunteer or organization to oversee the operations each weekend.

"The coordinators give their time for at least four weekends on Saturday and Sunday by going to the different sites when there's a change of volunteers ringing the bell to make sure that someone is there," said Social Services Director LouAnne Wolf.  "It's really important that we find someone willing to give during this time frame."

Coordinators Frank Gramieri and Jen Vogel are both stepping down after coordinating the bell ringing program for the last five years.  

"We have decided to step down because the commitment involved with planning and implementing this program became too great," Vogel said.  "We gave up each weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas, in addition to the daily calls, emails and work involved with coordinating volunteers and locations. We could not spend quality time with our family and friends like we would have wanted to. We willingly gave up this time each year because we knew and valued the benefit of helping others."

While coordinating the program does take sacrifice, Vogel said the work collecting money that stays in South Brunswick to help the less fortunate was enriching.

"The most rewarding aspect of the program is knowing that the money donated goes directly back into the community that we live in," she said.  "Many times, you donate money to an organization hoping that the money is used for its intended purpose. In this case, I know that the money collected is used to assist those less fortunate in my community by helping with their heat, rent, medical expenses,etc. It's direct impact is on the local level."

Vogel said her job entailed approaching businesses to obtain permission for the bell ringing, reaching out to residents and local groups like the Boys and Girl Scouts, church groups and students to arrange volunteers and organizing the schedule.   Then, each weekend, coordinators setup the kettles and fill in as volunteers when needed. At the end of each day, they pick up the kettles, collect the money and deposit it in the bank.  

While the job of coordinator can be tough, Vogel said there were heartwarming aspects of the tasks that made it worthwhile.

"I enjoyed seeing the volunteers make their time special by playing musical instruments, festively dressing up or singing holiday songs," she said.  "I also enjoyed hearing the stories of how the Salvation Army helped someone during a tough time in their lives. Many people would come up to me as I was bell ringing just to tell me how much they appreciated the Salvation Army. It was heartwarming to know that the organization had such an impact in their lives."

Some of those who were helped by the program even returned to offer assistance to show their gratitude.

"A family who had been helped by our unit during a tough time in their life got back on their feet and not only volunteered by bellringing for us, but also donated back to the organization," Vogel said. "This is the true spirit of helping."

In healthier economic times, the program used to bring in about $10,000 each year.  The funds are used by Social Services to provide emergency money to the less fortunate when needed for the payment of bills like utility payments or emergency shelter. However, the recession has taken a bite out of the fundraising provided by the bell ringing program.

"Last year we received about $5,100," Wolf said.  "Unfortunately that's indicative of the times we're in and that causes a hardship.  We ran out of funds by August."

Wolf said she is hopeful a group or organization, such as the scouts, will step forward to volunteer.   She said she is hoping for a number of volunteers to step up and possibly take one out of the four weekends, so the coordinators could be spread out during the season, thus lessening the burden.

"I understand how someone burns out by giving away their weekends during this time," Wolf said.  "If we could get a scout troop or a couple people to volunteer to take one week each, that would be outstanding."

For more information on volunteering for the program call South Brunswick Social Services at 732-329-4000 ext. 7674.