Nov 20, 20212 min read

We're Setting a World Record This Weekend!

This weekend, from 8:00 AM on Saturday until 6:00 PM on Sunday in front of the First Presbyterian Church at 16 Hitt Street, Salvation Army of Mid-Missouri employee Sean Spence will ring a bell with a red kettle for 34 hours straight. The goal is to raise money and awareness for local poverty relief.

Donations can be made in person or online at www.redkettlecolumbia.org.

“Thousands of volunteers will ring and raise money throughout the Christmas season and this is a fun way to help kick it off for us,” Major Curtiss Hartley of The Salvation Army of Mid-Missouri said. “The whole event is pretty unorthodox, but it is just one more example of the Salvation Army slogan that ‘With your help, hope marches on’. Hopefully it will be a reminder that there are a lot of people in need and every one of us can do something to help.”

Spence said setting a world record is secondary, but the 34-hour goal was specifically chosen to make that a possibility. He said the Guinness World Record organization does not actually have a record specifically related to Salvation Army bell ringing, but there are similar records and attempts that served as a guideline.

“This weekend is going to be crazy, but we want to do something splashy to help bring attention to local poverty issues,” Spence said. “Maybe the best thing about the weekend is that all kinds of high-profile Columbians who are already making a difference will join me in ringing over the 34 hours.”

Other ringers will include nonprofit executives, elected officials, local political candidates, business leaders, and others. The current complete list is available below.

The Salvation Army annually helps more than 23 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,600 centers of operations around the country. In the first-ever listing of “America’s Favorite Charities” by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Salvation Army ranked as the country’s largest privately funded, direct-service nonprofit. For more information about The Salvation Army Central Territory, please visit CentralUSA.SalvationArmy.org or your local Salvation Army at SalvationArmyCoMo.org or SalvationArmyJeffCity.org.

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