Bell ringers wanted: Salvation Army in desperate need of volunteers heading into the holidays

ATLANTA - At stores throughout metro Atlanta, bells are ringing again. It is a sound of the holiday season, and each shake is a chance to help others.

"The Salvation Army is a great cause," said Jane Rossmann, a Salvation Army volunteer bell ringer.

Rossmann has been a volunteer Salvation Army bell ringer for 15 years.

"I would be so depressed if I weren't out here every Christmas," she said. "This is Christmas for me."

She is at a metro Atlanta Kroger four days a week, several hours a day because she believes in what The Salvation Army does. The money raised from the kettles helps feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and buy toys for kids. Rossmann says she gets a lot of fulfillment from doing it.

"People come by and put money in your kettle and give you their stories or little kids will come by, and their parents are teaching them how to give," she said.

While Rossmann is back volunteering this year, not everyone is.

Major Thomas McWilliams, the Atlanta-area commander for the Salvation Army, says they are short hundreds of volunteers and really need help.

"We have less and less volunteers come out, and I think it started with COVID with people staying more at home and there are less and less groups of a large size, so we are in need of volunteers to come out and ring a bell," he said.

The red kettle program brings in more than a million dollars in metro Atlanta every year, and they rely heavily on these donations and volunteers like Rossmann who help raise that money.

"If a person is not out here to ring the bell and then take the money then The Salvation Army and all of their programs suffer," Rossmann said.

The Salvation Army says every volunteer hour of bell ringing raises enough money to feed 13 people.

If you would like to volunteer or donate, click here.