Richmond bell-ringers accepting plastic this Christmas

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign will be more than a drop in the bucket this year.

Two hand-held credit-card machines will take donations from people who aren’t carrying cash.

“We’re trying to stay with the times,“ Salvation Army spokesman Jeff Baldwin said yesterday during a trial run at the Ukrop’s store on Forest Hill Avenue.

“People have told me, ‘If you had a credit-card machine, I’d give,‘ “ added Natalie Sayre, Richmond Citadel Corps officer.

When credit-card machines were used last year by Salvation Army bell-ringers in California, the average donation per station was higher, Baldwin said. “As far as I know, nobody in the Southeast has done it,“ he added. The machines cost $55 per month to rent and $50 to set up with wireless access, but they should pay for themselves.

“That’s what the hope is,“ he said.

Yesterday’s first credit-card donation at the Forest Hill Avenue store was about $20, compared with a few coins or dollar bills traditionally dropped into the red kettle.

For the next week, both machines will travel with Salvation Army musicians. Today, one will be with area music director Matt Sims from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the food court entrance of Chesterfield Towne Center. The other will be with his father, Dean Sims, at the Ukrop’s store on Forest Hill Avenue near Chippenham Parkway.

Starting Nov. 28, one credit-card machine will remain with bell-ringers at the Wal-Mart on Parham Road near Regency Square. The other will continue to travel with Matt Sims.

The Salvation Army also is using technology online to make it easier to donate or volunteer for a shift at one of the Red Kettle sites.

Even the Angel Tree program has an online component. The Richmond Salvation Army sent 300 local wish lists to a virtual Angel Giving Tree at http://Angel.JCPenney.com. Type in a ZIP code to find someone near you. If you buy the present online, Penney’s will deliver it directly to the Salvation Army distribution center. “We got two bags delivered today,“ Baldwin said.

To donate online to The Salvation Army Christmas Mother program, co-sponsored by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, go to TimesDispatch.com and do a keyword search for “Christmas Mother.“

Red Kettle donation stations operate at more than 70 locations throughout the Richmond area during the holiday season. They’re staffed by more than 100 individuals and groups, but more are needed, Baldwin said. Some of the sites and shifts are vacant most days. To sign up for a shift online, go to RegisterToRing.com/CentralVirginia.

The Red Kettle Campaign began last Friday and will run every day through Dec. 24, except for Thanksgiving Day and Sundays. The goal is $260,000 for the metropolitan Richmond area and $100,000 for the Tri-Cities area.

Contributions are used to provide Christmas assistance to children and families and to support Salvation Army programs and services in the first quarter of the year.

Calos is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.