BELLVILLE – Standing outside Stoodt’s Market, President of the Salvation Army Clear Fork Unit Mike Bing takes his post beside a red kettle. He’s mentally prepared for whatever kind of weather the valley is in the mood for that day and waits outside the store for shoppers to come up to him, or he gingerly starts up a conversation himself.
Since the reopening of Stoodt’s Market, it’s become the hottest spot in Bellville, where a steady stream of people flow in and out every hour, especially during the holiday season. Bing, who’s good acquaintances with the owner, Georjean Stoodt, decided to set up the kettle there with Stoodt’s heartwarming acceptance.
Across the globe, the Salvation Army began its annual Red Kettle Campaign, where chapters in every location ask for donations from the community in order to help those community members in need.
“This is the time to generate,” Bing said. “We probably generate at least 95 percent of our budget on the donations we receive from Thanksgiving through Christmas thanks to the Red Kettle Campaign.”
The campaign kicked off on Thanksgiving week and runs until Dec. 23. Bing and other volunteers take shifts throughout the day to collect donations. So far, the Clear Fork Unit has already raised over $2,600 of their $6,600 budget.
Due to the pandemic, Bing did not want to get his hopes up with reaching his goal, but to his great surprise, there’s been a phenomenal outpouring of donations from the community in the past two weeks.
“I’m just always blown away by the generosity of the people in the valley, in supporting their neighbors and friends… We’re already up over $2,600, and that’s actually a little more than what we have averaged in years past, so (the community) really stepped up,” Bing said.
Stoodt, who reopened Stoodt’s Market this past summer, has seen the dedication in Bing’s and other volunteers’ eyes as they’re outside her store ringing the bell for donations. It reminded her of her own dedication when it came to putting plans in motion to reopen the market. It thrilled her to learn how giving her customers have been this holiday season.
“The people around here are just really caring people who, who want to help each other and I think it’s wonderful that (the Clear Fork Unit) is making it happen,” Stoodt said.
Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than 4.5 million people during Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Around the world this year, more children have needed supplies for school, dozens of families have been threatened to have their utilities shut off as well as faced the possibility of being removed from their homes.
The Clear Fork Unit only resumed operations three months ago after being closed since the end of Christmas last year due to the pandemic. Had they not been able to resume, Bing said they would have had a difficult time generating enough donations to help the Bellville community as much as they have in the past.
Bing, who is retired, puts all of his efforts into keeping the Clear Fork Unit open and readily available for anyone in need. While the chapter has been around for 30 years, many of the former members were elderly and could not manage to keep up with it anymore. Without those volunteers, Bellville risked losing its unit.
Bing—along with a number of religious, political and business leaders in the community—formed a task force to get it started up and running again in 2013. “And by the grace of God, we’re still doing well with a dedicated core of volunteers of all ages,” Bing said.
Since reopening the unit, Bing and other volunteers have helped families with utility payments, attaining gas cards and prescription medications along with helping victims of domestic abuse. However, there’s still much more the Clear Fork Unit can do that the community has not taken advantage of, according to Bing.
“While we’ve tried to promote ourselves as much as possible to people, the valley—while being extremely generous people—they’re also rather fiercely independent,” Bing said. “Sometimes we don’t get as many requests as we would like for help.”
The Salvation Army Clear Fork Unit is located in the Bellville Outreach Center on 84 Main Street and can also be reached on Facebook.
