Sign up to Ring the Bell!

Who:  Anyone!
The Giant has requested no more than two people at a time because of large groups blocking access to the store.

What:  Ring the Bell for the Salvation Army to raise money for them to help those in need in Loudoun County.

Where:  the Giant on Market Street in Leesburg

When:  Two hour shift (you can pre-arrange to split a shift.
See dates on sign-up form below.

How:  Wear layered clothing as temperatures may fluctuate.
Bring a cardboard box or rug to stand on, which will help keep the cold from the pavement from your feet.
Remember to say:  "Merry Christmas!" and "Thank you!"
Never leave kettle unattended, if you need a break, please take the kettle to the customer service desk in the store.

Sign-up through VolunteerSpot and they you will be able to make changes to your commitment, see who else is signed up to switch with someone and they will automatically send you a reminder two days before your date.

From the Salvation Army website:

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.
 
Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.
 
The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.
 
Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.
 
Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.