Salvation Army bell ringers silenced

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

Donations to the Salvation Army "Christmas Kettle Fund" can be sent by mail to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 28369, Las Vegas, NV 89126. Checks should be marked, "Christmas Kettle Fund." Donations can also be deposited at any Wells Fargo store location to account number 3668284031.

The day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas season will roll into the Las Vegas Valley,complete with ads for toys and photos with Santa Claus.

This year it comes in a little more quietly, however.

That's because the tinny sound of bells drawing attention to the Salvation Army's red kettles won't be heard outside Target stores around the valley, and, for most days in the weeks leading up to Christmas, they'll be missing from Wal-Mart stores as well.

The change, brought on by new corporate policies, has left the local Salvation Army scrambling for ways to make up an estimated $50,000-plus shortfall in the money that goes every year for food and toys at Christmas.

Officials at the organization and others said it also may be a sign of the times, the loss of a symbol.

"Many people recognize Christmas by hearing bells," said Maj. William Raihl, Clark County coordinator for the Salvation Army.

"I've had dozens of calls from people saying it won't be Christmas without them," he said.

If you ask somebody who studies the big picture -- our society, what things mean -- the move to silence the bells carries an even bigger weight.

"One ... way to look at this is as part of a growing trend in the United States, where we seem concerned about keeping any sign of needfulness out of the public sphere," said Matt Wray, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Wray said that Christmas is one of the "very few mandated seasons of giving" in our culture.

"There's tax time -- but no one celebrates that," he said.

"And one of the things about the bell ringers is it was always a very public thing -- you were witnessed by the bell ringer and whoever was around to see it," Wray said.

Raihl said a woman called him explaining that her mother had taken her to drop a donation in the kettle when she was a child, and that she had taught her daughter to do the same.

"It's kind of disheartening to think that maybe (the daughter) won't be able to do the same with her daughter," he said.

Another expression of the hold bell ringers have on the popular imagination is the "legend that the Christmas carol, 'Silver bells,' refers to the Salvation Army," Raihl said.

Locally, the annual tradition has brought in about $320,000 in years past, from up to 80 locations around the valley. This year, Target announced that it would end the longstanding exception to their "no solicitation" policy they had perennially granted the Salvation Army.

Wal-Mart announced last year that the bell ringers could set up their kettles a total of 14 days a year -- which Raihl said he would use on Thursdays through Saturdays from Nov. 26 to Dec. 24.

The changes in policy could mean a total loss of up to 17 percent for the Salvation Army of Clark County's Christmas program, Raihl said.

Brie Heath, spokeswoman for Target, said that the decision to enforce their policy with the Salvation Army was made to be fair with other organizations.

"Over the years, an increasing number of organizations have sought permission to solicit ... and asked ... if the Salvation Army could solicit, then why not them?" Heath said.

Raihl, who said he understands Target's position, said he thought the move was also a "sign of the unfortunate times we live in" because our society has "become very litigious."

"Other organizations say, 'You give them access, why not us.' Rather than deal with it, they say no one is allowed," he said.

Wray said that other retail chains could make the same decision in years to come.

"If they're moving to protect themselves, other corporations will follow suit," he said.

Heath, Target's spokeswoman, said her company encouraged organizations like the Salvation Army to apply for grants, a different way to solicit funds.

Heath also said the announcement -- made back in January, to give the nonprofit organization "lead time in hopes of finding other resources"-- "wasn't a decision we took lightly."

She said her company has been receiving e-mails from shoppers who were "concerned" about the decision.

Other expressions of concern have been forthcoming from diverse corners.

A Washington, D.C.-based group called Concerned Women for America, which describes itself as a "public policy women's organization" that "bring(s) Biblical principles into all levels of public policy" encouraged its members to contact Target on the issue.

Meanwhile, in the Las Vegas Valley, the Salvation Army is trying to make up for losses in donations, which could mean the difference between helping 3,000 families and helping about 2,500, Raihl said.

Monday, the organization announced an alternative way to help those families: Good Samaritans can mail a donation or deposit one in any Wells Fargo bank branch located in stores.

Wray said that move, while practical from the Salvation Army's point of view, also may be a sign of the times.

"It essentially moves the compassionate giving to the poor out of the public sphere and privatizes it," Wray said.

"It makes compassion and responsiveness a matter of individual giving and choice -- people can opt in or out without any social pressure to do good."