Get Your Kettle On

So guess who's been put in charge as Kettle Coordinator at the Sunnyvale Grace Korean Corps? You betcha. So as of Nov. 16th, my life will consist of scheduling, picking-up, dropping-off, and counting money Monday to Saturday until December 24th! Ahhhhh - I would like to say this is an honour but really, I'm really just praying I'll make it to see Christmas. Luckily


On top of this, I've been doing all the hiring, screening, interviewing and background checks for all workers. Down here, there aren't enough volunteers to cover all 22 locations - yes, that's right, 22 locations every day. So, we hire seasonal workers - many whom have not been able to find work, many who are homeless. Let me just say that it's really hard trying to call back the homeless for second interviews or clarification on their apps.


It seems that Kettling is better known as bell ringing in the states and they keep ringing this crazy bell the school teachers used to carry around during recess break. It also drives some store managers nutters so I've had to assure many of them we'd just use sleigh bells. Many big stores have been corporately turning the Salvation Army down lately such as Target and Whole Foods so as an alternative, there's now virtual kettles for everyone to donate online. It's also hard because so many other organizations are looking for donations and although I would say our cause is great and should be at the top of the list, i'm sure others would beg to differ.


It's a bit sad because The Salvation Army is quite popular in the US and Bell Ringing has become part of the Christmas culture. However, just like it's becoming hard to say Merry Christmas to people, it's also proving difficult to spread a little Christmas cheer to busy shoppers by playing some brass or ringing some bells.


On the other hand - our US spokesperson kicking off our Kettle season this year is none other than Kelly Clarkson herself. Hahaha! Andrew almost died when I told him that. She's going to be performing at the Dallas Cowboy's Thanksgiving Game half-time show - which always features our TSA kettle kickoff anyway. She's going to perform and give a little blub about donating. Cool eh? So maybe there's hope - the next generation of Kelly Clarkson teeny-bopper fans (myself included) will carry on the Red Kettle tradition - online or in person.