Dating all the way back to 1891, the Red Kettles were born out of a need to feed the poor in San Francisco. (Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock)
For me, it always starts to actually feel like the holiday season when I see a volunteer dressed up as Santa, ringing a bell, and asking people to drop some spare change in their bright red bucket. It’s a staple of many people’s childhoods, a fixture in the cold winter months.
Despite hearing these bells every holiday season, I hadn’t ever given a ton of thought to the history behind it. Along with Salvation Army donation tins, I wanted to look into the other programs that consistently spread the giving spirit.
Dating all the way back to 1891, the Red Kettles were born out of a need to feed the poor in San Francisco. Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was searching for a way to help these individuals and was reminded of his days in Liverpool, England, where large pots would be posted near the incoming boats coming to dock. Inspired by the idea of passerby tossing in a spare pence or two, he decided to place a pot at Oakland Ferry Landing.
Over the next 134 years, these Red Kettles have helped serve more than 25 million annually, providing meals, nights in homeless shelters, and Christmas gifts. The impact doesn’t just stop after the holidays are over—throughout the year, the donations go towards homeless shelters, disaster relief, children’s programs, rehabilitation services, anti-human trafficking, and more.
It’s even expanded with modern times, allowing for virtual fundraising. So far, the Salvation Army of Houston has raised over $100,000 in online donations. If you want to be the one ringing the bell, you can look through the database to find a Red Kettle station in your area.
While the United Way of Greater Houston has been an institution in the city for over 100 years, the nonprofit’s history dates all the way back to 1887 and involves a woman, a priest, two ministers, and a rabbi. No, this is not a bad “walks into a bar” joke, but a collective that helped shape a movement that led to over 1,000 local offices across the US.
In Denver, Colorado, the group put together a fundraising campaign that ended up raising over $700,000 by today’s standards and set the bar for future campaigns. Today, the United Way of Greater Houston has connected over 2 million people with services, including financial stability services, early childhood and youth development programs, health care programs, disaster recovery, and food and housing needs.
Along with financial donations to help uplift their mission, the United Way of Greater Houston is constantly seeking volunteers for their various annual projects. During times of disaster, they also utilize volunteers to help run the 2-1-1 line.
What if instead of getting a candy bar, a bag of chips, or a diet soda from a vending machine you could buy a pair of shoes for someone in need or a warm meal for a homebound senior? That’s the basic idea of the Giving Machines that are placed throughout the US. It works the same way as a normal vending machine, but instead of receiving an item, you pick from the various tabs representing different needs, and the money goes towards that need. The first Giving Machine popped up in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2017, and has since raised more than $33 million.
In Houston, the Giving Machines are partnered with Interfaith of The Woodlands, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Sole Mission, Target Hunger, and TOMAGWA, and need the following items in the machines:
- Shoes and socks for a child in need
- A holiday gift for an elderly individual in need
- Two weeks of groceries for a family with young children
- Fully furnished bed for a needy child
- Prescription medicines for uninsured individuals for a month
This year, the following locations will have the machines:
- Nov. 28–Dec. 1: Gallery Furniture
- Dec. 3–Dec. 15: Sugar Land Town Square
- Dec. 17–Jan. 3: Hughes Landing (The Woodlands)
Deep within a small Virginia town in 1979, the idea for an Angel Tree was born. When a local shopping mall was unable to house the aforementioned Red Kettles, it told local Salvation Army officers Captains Charles and Shirley White that they could use the Christmas tree display.
What started as hanging a few cutout angels with children’s clothing sizes written on them has turned into a program that, nearly 50 years later, helps provide millions of families with holiday presents. In Houston, the Greater Houston Salvation Army has set up multiple physical Angel Trees across the metro. You simply pick a child off of the tree, purchase the items, and drop them off for donation.
You can also choose a child online and make the donations there. For a full list of children and Angel Tree locations, visit here.
