Salvation Army Troops Launch Winter March
The generals in charge of the campaign met quietly last September to begin mapping a strategy that would mean victory for one of the most dogged, most crafty armies ever.
The plan was fairly simple: disperse soldiers throughout the landscape, disarm the populace with righteousness and press the advantage.
The weapons: a bell, a bucket and 98 years of know-how.
Thus, the Salvation Army, Orange County chapter, once again began its long winter march, a drive to make the holiday season a little brighter for the needy and the down-and-out.
But what may go unnoticed by the casual sidewalk observer is the tactical planning and preparation that makes this and other divisions of the army among the most successful of holiday fund-raisers.
Contributions in Orange County are up from 40% to 50% over last year so far, said Warren Johnson, business administrator for the army and an architect of the local campaign.
The sincere “God Bless” and hearty shake of the bell may seem obvious, but there is a method behind that well-chosen phrase, the location of the soldier, even the shape of the collection bucket.
When it comes to collecting money for charity, the “Sally” is no neophyte. While the annual holiday kettle drive may lack the precision of a true military strike, nearly all of its components are conceived with a purpose: to persuade that self-absorbed, in-a-hurry, none-too-rich holiday shopper--yes, you--to hand over a buck or five.
“We’ve tried to (staff) more kettles with army personnel, and that has been a positive approach for us,” Johnson said. “And we have paid more attention to when and where we should have people standing out there. On a couple of occasions we had people at locations where the take was dismal.”
The best spots in Orange County to pick up more than a little spare change? Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza (the east mall anchored by May Co. and Sears), Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, the Roger’s Gardens entrance at Santa Ana’s MainPlace and Target stores at various locations throughout the county.
Upscale South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island may seem like predictable choices but not for the reason many might suspect, Johnson said.
“We’re looking for foot traffic--not areas where somebody will drive up in a Mercedes and drop in a $50 bill,” he said. “We’re as excited about the dollar bills and quarters as the $50 bills. Exclusivity doesn’t cross our minds.”
In Los Angeles County, malls such as the Galleria in Glendale and Del Amo Fashion Square in Torrance do well, as do Target stores and Vons grocery stores, said Tara Patty, an army spokeswoman in Los Angeles.
Even at the best sites, the army’s foot soldiers are not posted haphazardly. At the peak of the kettle campaign, just before Christmas, there will be eight kettle locations at South Coast Plaza, chosen because they have a history of bringing in big money.
“We maintain on a daily basis a record of the income of a kettle so we can check on any given day what it is pulling in versus last year or five years ago,” Johnson said with the intentness of an accountant.
“I can go back and tell you the effect that a rainy day had on a particular kettle five years ago. We know this.”
Despite an annual Christmas-season effort that pulls in a staggering $110 million, the 124-year-old organization headquartered in Verona, N.J., maintains that it is not a fund-raising machine.
Its success in that area is only a reflection of the tremendous need for its services, say its officers.
But the task has been greatly aided through a mixture of acquired institutional shrewdness and individual enterprise.
There are more than 20,000 Salvation Army centers located in 83 countries. Army officials estimate there will be some 15,000 kettles in operation in the Unites States during this holiday season, manned by nearly 1 million volunteers.
While there is some standardization among the various corps, much of the fund-raising strategy is left to individual divisions.
“That is because the army corps officer ministers to that area in the same way any clergy would,” said Gene Phillips, assistant director of national communications. “They know the area like the back of their hand. They know the best placements..”
The army must also be sensitive to needs of the stores and businesses where it positions its soldiers.
Officials say they are concerned with a troubling trend in recent years of malls severely restricting the access of army bell ringers or refusing them altogether.
It is estimated that about one in five shopping malls in the country will ban kettles this Christmas season.
Some mall owners argue that if they allow the army entree they will be forced to let in other organizations as well. To counter those concerns, many corps are now offering options other than the traditional bell and bucket.
San Diego divisions, for example, offer stores a package to choose from: a gift-wrapping booth at which shoppers can make donations, a brass band, strolling carolers or an information booth.
At some locations bell ringing is a no-no, said Bob Bearchell, a spokesman in the army’s western regional headquarters in Palos Verdes. In those cases, a sign reading “ding-dong” placed conspicuously has done almost as well.
A popular trend in many communities (apparently more than just Southern California) is to have celebrity bell ringers come out for a stand.
But the biggest lure remains live music, Bearchell said. A Salvation Army band playing Christmas carols and hymns is a prized commodity, nationwide. If it can be paired with a children’s chorus, an enterprising corps is almost assured a big payday.
Despite such enduring traditions, the army is not without its innovations. Some divisions mount campaigns that feature “the world’s biggest kettle.” Kettles as large as seven feet across and five feet deep have been made for such occasions.
Big kettles make a lot of sense, Bearchell added. Mall space, especially during Christmas, is at a premium. With anxious shoppers in a last-minute frenzy, the crowds in front of a kettle can be daunting. People have been known to drop coins and fluttering bills into large kettles from the second or third level of a mall, he said.
Even the small, traditional red kettles have changed since the first caldron was set up at an Oakland ferry landing in 1891. Undermanned army corps can now get kettles with such devices as a self-ringing bell and a booth complete with a public address system over which recorded music is played.
And then there is the slit in the kettle, through which bills and coins must pass. It’s a little bigger these days and the lid now features a gentle downward slope. Such design variations are a result of watching people and how they give, said Maj. William Nottle, the army’s Orange County coordinator.
“People like to be anonymous and unnoticed when they are giving money,” Nottle said. “They like to walk up quickly (to a kettle) and be gone without any problems.”
The wider slit makes it easier to put money in without a lot of fiddling.
The bell ringers themselves do not come through the fires of a kettle campaign without developing a few tricks of their own.
For example, Rafael Joya Campos, an 83-year-old Santa Ana grandfather and veteran bell ringer of eight years, never heads to his post without a worn wooden ruler, which he uses to tamp down the bills in his kettle. A pot that appears overcrowded is to be avoided.
This, of course, is knowledge that can’t be taught in schools, said Nottle, not all of it anyway.
At the army’s Palos Verdes training school, cadets are required to attend a seminar in Christmas field training, which explores various aspects of caroling and kettling.
Mostly, it’s very practical, said field training officer Capt. Linda Markiewicz.
“We teach them how to deal with stores and malls,” she said, “ . . . to try and stick by the Christmas shopping crowds and grocery stores. Some areas we seldom use. Like setting up in front of a liquor store would not be traditional.”
Finally, if any corps or soldier runs into a snag, they need only turn to the “Christmas brief,” Markiewicz said.
Like ancient scribes, Salvation Army personnel all over the world are instructed to keep detailed accounts of kettle campaigns for those who follow.
“It is why there has been so much consistency in our programs,” Markiewicz said. “We follow the same patterns.”
WINTER MARCH
Features of this year’s Orange County Salvation Army kettle drive:
Total number of kettles: 86. Cities with most kettles: Anaheim, 27; Santa Ana, 26. Best moneymaking spots: Roger’s Gardens entrance at Santa Ana’s MainPlace; South Coast Plaza, east mall entrance; Target stores, 1881 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim; 6835 Katella Ave., Cypress. Best moneymaking days: Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving; the two weeks before Christmas. Money raised: Last year, $40,000. 1989 estimate: $48,000+ Source: Salvation Army, Orange County.
