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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, November 26, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 22, 2004 Salvation Army Hope House resident Robert Johnson rings those famous holiday bells for kettle donations Friday outside Ray�s Food Place in Central Point. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Challenge for bell ringers Target’s decision to disallow the practice forces volunteers to focus on fewer sites By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune The familiar jingle of Salvation Army bell ringers will sound at fewer Southern Oregon sites this holiday season after local organizers failed to find a replacement for Medford’s Target store. The national retailer Target Corp. banned the trademark red kettles and cheerful ringers from department stores here and across the country this year, citing a change in charity policy. Organizers for the local nonprofit had hoped to find another site to replace Target, which accounted for about $8,000 of the $100,000 in kettle donations collected each year. Hopes that technology retailer Circuit City would step up were dashed this week, said Salvation Army development director Carrie Hanson. Although officials from Circuit City Stores Inc. have agreed to allow some Salvation Army ringers in some stores this year, a nationwide agreement won’t likely take effect until next year, Hanson said. So for now, more than two dozen full- and part-time ringers in Southern Oregon will have to jingle double-time to make up the difference. Advertisement "We’re hoping that the community will step forward and fill that void," said Jeff Josephson, Salvation Army kettle coordinator. Local kettle ringers started their six-week holiday season this week, fanning out to 20 sites. Some 21 full-time ringers work full shifts; eight part-timers fill in. They ring every day but Sunday out of respect for the agency’s Christian tenets, Hanson said. The ringers will be seen — and heard — at Albertson’s, Bi-Mart, Black Bird, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, G.I. Joe’s, Ray’s Food Place, Safeway, Sherm’s Thunderbird Market and Wal Mart throughout the Rogue Valley. Kettle collections account for a portion of the Salvation Army’s $2 million annual budget. The $8,000 in Target collections paid for 356 bed nights at the agency’s Hope House transitional shelter; 1,069 hot meals and 822 food boxes for needy families, Hanson said. "Since we haven’t replaced it, maybe folks will be extra generous this year," she said. With that in mind, Josephson expressed hope that thieves who sometimes target holiday kettles change their ways this year. He said the kettles are clipped firmly to stands, but that there’s no better way to secure them. "If somebody wants to take the kettles from us, there’s nothing we can do to stop it," he said. "But we hope they realize they’re taking it from a Christian-based organization and that that should be deterrent enough." For more information about the kettle drive, call 773-6965. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities