Media Contact:
Faithe Colas
Community Relations Director
414-302-4300x2248
414-531-6363
ROSEVILLE, Minn. – December 16, 2010 – For the past four years, Helen McCombie of Hudson, Wis. has
volunteered to bell ring 30 hours straight in Hudson, Wis.
to raise $30,000 for The Salvation Army. With recent snowstorms crippling
donations to The Salvation Army, this year her son in Rapid
City, S.D. and close friend in Brainerd, Minn.
have agreed to do the same.
Starting at 5 a.m. on Dec. 20, all three will bell ring nonstop until Dec. 21
at 11 a.m. McCombie will ring at the County
Market in Hudson. Her son, U.S. Air Force Sgt. Tom
McCombie, will ring at Walmart in Rapid
City. Her friend, Shonna Baldwin, will ring at Walmart
in Baxter (just west of Brainerd).
Their goal is to each raise at least $30,000 for their local Salvation Army.
“Last year was the first year I raised my goal of $30,000,” Helen McCombie
said. “I decided to retire, but The Salvation Army is hurting so much this year
– donations are down.”
Nationally, Christmas season donations to The Salvation Army have fallen about
10 percent compared to last year, a figure that is consistent in many local
markets. Helen McCombie’s local Salvation Army, for example, is short about
$60,000.
Support these three brave bell ringers Dec. 20–21 by dropping money into their
kettles or donating in any of the following ways:
Helen in Hudson:
Call 715-247-2944 or mail a check to The Salvation Army, 203 Church Hill Rd., Somerset,
WI 54025.
Tom in Rapid City:
Call 605-342-0982 or mail a check to The Salvation Army, 405 N. Cherry Ave., Rapid City,
SD 57702.
Shonna in Brainerd: Donate online at www.thesalarmy.org/brainerd or mail a check to The Salvation Army, 208 South Fifth Street, Brainerd,
MN 56401.
Helen McCombie supports The Salvation Army because the organization helped her
out of a jam many years ago. While driving through Michigan with her two young children in the
dead of winter, her car broke down and she couldn’t pay for repairs. She
contacted The Salvation Army, which paid the repair bill and got her back on
the road.
The Salvation Army Northern Division has been serving Minnesota
and North Dakota communities since 1886. Today
the Northern Division includes operation centers in dozens of cities across
both states. These centers provide food, shelter, spiritual enrichment and more
to about 500,000 people a year. To volunteer with The Salvation Army or to make
a donation, please call 651-746-3400 or toll free at 800-SAL-ARMY. Checks made
out to The Salvation Army may be sent to 2445 Prior Ave. N, Roseville,
MN 55113.