KEAUHOU — It’s off and clangin’— the season of red kettle bells, and that familiar sound that serves as a reminder to give.
Those bells, those rapidly ringing bells, have a style all their own — or at least, their owners have distinct methods of swinging them.
On the mainland East Coast, they carry the bell high and ring it hard and fast above the shoulder. Aggressive, like rock music.
“They’re really into rhythm,” said Salvation Army Maj. John Chamness Friday morning during a celebratory breakfast announcing the kickoff to the red kettle season at Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay.
Then there’s the standard wag, holding the belt at hip level. Finally, there are the shyer bell ringers — not wanting to be too disruptful, perhaps — who hold the bell as far down as possible and sway it ever so gently.
“This way, (they’re) real quiet,” he said.
Styles aside, the results are what count.
The famous fundraising drive, started in 1891 in San Francisco, helps the Salvation Army, a Christian-based charitable organization, provide a wide array of services for those in need. From soup kitchens to homeless initiatives, to providing music classes or sending kids to camp, the Salvation Army served 122,000 people statewide last year.
“These are all ways the Salvation Army kettle makes a difference in the lives we serve,” Chamness said.
Lives like Wendy Sandell’s.
She was diagnosed with diabetes at 10, in her 20s she partied, and by her 30s her kidney had failed. Sick, weak and rail thin, she was in rough shape when she was introduced to the Salvation Army, but was hired to clean officers’ quarters where she became healthier and put on her old weight under her life new structure.
Later, when she was in her 40s after a successful kidney transplant in 2010, she found herself in dire need of work and help again. The Salvation Army was there, and hired her in their first-to-work program. Now, five years later, she’s the manager of the Salvation Army’s Kona Thrift Store.
“My life has gotten so much better,” she told the group of about 50 who attended the breakfast. “They’ve allowed me to feel and grow at my own pace.”
She paused a moment.
“You know, the Salvation Army rocks,” she added, putting her hand in the air.
Then, there’s the life of Dante Bohanny.
He’s an example of what Chamness referred to as investing in youth. Bohanny has been with the Salvation Army since he was 8 years old, and it’s taken the Kealakehe High School senior to Oahu and California through its programs — places that seemed untouchable before.
“It took me places that I never thought I’d go,” he said. “I’ve been blessed.”
Friday wasn’t just celebration, there was work involved. Funds were raised through the table by attending businesses like the Fish Hopper, which reached into their own pockets and raised $2,300 during the morning.
And most money donated in West Hawaii will stay in West Hawaii, as 84 cents of every buck stays in the community.
“You are so generous and we’re so grateful,” event emcee Barbara Wallace told the crowd. “Everything you give here helps your neighbors.”
And as for swinging and ringing those bells, people still have time to develop their own style. The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to stand outside of stores through Dec. 24.
“The majority of people we want, the majority of the people we need, are volunteers,” Lieutenant Joanna Wang said.
Info: Wang 326-2330 or 756-7984 or email Joanna.Wang@usw.salvationarmy.org