Salvation: More bell ringers

David Kihara

Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005 | 8:50 a.m.

The familiar sound of Salvation Army bell ringers in front of shopping centers is slightly quieter this year in Southern Nevada.

For the first time in recent history, the Salvation Army has had trouble recruiting "bell ringers," the people standing in front of shopping centers dressed in red, soliciting funds during the busy holiday season.

"I've never experienced a year where we've had such a shortage," Capt. Michael Nute of the Salvation Army in Las Vegas said.

Salvation Army officials say a new policy of mandatory criminal background checks has reduced the number of eligible recruits. The traditionally low wages -- $6.50 an hour to start -- and donor fatigue after a year of catastrophe have also cut the number of people applying for the jobs or volunteering to ring a bell, official said.

Last year about 80 bell ringers raised approximately $96,000 for the Salvation Army in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. This year it has between 55 and 60 bell ringers in the two cities. Six days before Christmas the bell ringers have raised about $62,400, Nute said.

The Salvation Army in Henderson had about 45 bell ringers in 2004, but this year there are 27, Capt. Bill Welch said.

"This is the first year we've had a shortage," he said.

Last year in Henderson, the bell ringers raised $132,000, and $118,000 in 2003. As of Saturday, the bell ringers have brought in about $101,000, Welch said.

Salvation Army officials hope this last week before Christmas, traditionally the biggest week of the campaign, boosts the totals.

"It can be (devastating) when so much is riding on it," Nute said.

The bell ringers are important to the Salvation Army because of the funds they can raise. The money helps subsidize low-income rents and utility payments, pays for food for the homeless and medications for those down on their luck, and sometimes provides gasoline money for those in need.

Part of the its recruiting problem is self-inflicted. For the first time, the Salvation Army is requiring background checks on potential employees, said Sandi Gabel, divisional development director in Phoenix.

The background checks may have "caused a number of them not to ring bells this year," Gabel said, adding that there is also a decrease in the number of people applying.

In Phoenix, five out of eight "corps," or Salvation Army agencies, are reporting a lower number of bell ringers, Gabel said.

William Raihl, Clark County commander, said the background checks were a minor factor in the reduced number of bell ringers. In some cases, the checks, which look for criminal and sex offender histories, sometimes took three weeks. And for some people looking for quick holiday money, the wait wasn't worth the job and they moved on, he said.

The local Salvation Army also saw an overall decrease in the number of people applying to be bell ringers. He attributed that to the high number of other jobs available in Las Vegas that would pay more than his group pays, he said.

The Salvation Army discussed raising the wages, but the more they pay in wages the less they have to provide for community assistance. Each year, the pay has increased about 25 cents an hour, but this year "the wages (for other jobs) went far higher than we could match," Raihl said.

The unemployment rate in Nevada hovered near 4 percent in November, according to the Labor Department. That is lower than in California, which had a state unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, or Arizona, at 4.8 percent.

The national unemployment rate was 5 percent last month.

Another factor in the lower number of bell ringers may be volunteer fatigue. It was a big year for disasters, from the tsunami that ravaged Indian Ocean countries to the earthquake in Pakistan, which claimed thousands of lives. Closer to home, Hurricane Katrina wrecked parts of the Gulf Coast and the reconstruction effort is still ongoing.

After helping out and donating to those disasters, people may not feel obligated to spend time on their weekends volunteering for the Salvation Army, officials said.

David Kihara can be reached at 259-2330 or at davidk@lasvegassun.com.