Posted on 12/03/2007 2:38:04 PM PST by fgoodwin
Kettle cash tempting to thieves
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/329594.html
http://tinyurl.com/ypos7x
Posted on Mon, Dec. 03, 2007
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
Yes, Virginia, there are grinches out there. And they steal from the Salvation Army's red kettles.
One bell ringer told police she was robbed in Lighthouse Point last month when she left her kettle for a few minutes to use the bathroom.
''That is the last thing the world needs right now,'' said Capt. Tom Louden, area commander for the Salvation Army in Broward.
Such thefts are a perennial problem around the country for the Salvation Army.
About 20,000 red kettles appear at storefronts nationwide every holiday season, with volunteers ringing bells and collecting donations for Army programs like shelters and Christmas meals. With that many kettles, a few inevitably get robbed every year.
In the Broward case, the theft happened before what Louden called the typical rush time -- 5 to 8 p.m. That meant the kettle, in front of a Lighthouse Point Publix, didn't have much money in it.
But in Chicago, thieves snatched the kettle and stand and got away with about $400 in cash from a suburban grocery store, also in November. The Chicago kettle ringer also left his post to use the bathroom.
Two years ago, after five Florida kettle thefts, the Salvation Army sent out a statewide order to use bolts to secure the kettles to the tripods.
The Salvation Army doesn't track kettle-theft statistics.
''There's bound to be isolated incidents of theft. It's very tempting,'' said Christopher Priest, spokesman for the Salvation Army's southeastern U.S. region. ``You walk past it and you imagine how much money could well be in it. I guess people just want to take the opportunity to try and steal it.''
The procedures for kettle collections, which the organization calls ''kettling,'' have changed little over the years. One or more volunteers stand at a storefront ringing bells and asking for donations. That's about what Salvation Army Capt. Joseph McFee did in 1891 when he started the tradition in San Francisco.
Now that tradition is part of a holiday drive that nets about $100 million a year. The drive starts during the halftime show of the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game and runs until Christmas Eve.
But the successful effort brings out the grinches. So the Salvation Army has stepped up kettle security.
Bell ringers are told they should take the money or the entire kettle with them if they have to leave their post -- or leave it with a store manager.
The Lighthouse Point bell ringer forgot to do that. Sashiana Herne, 22, left the kettle behind when she used the restroom at the Publix, 3700 N. Federal Hwy. When she came back the kettle and money were gone, according to the Lighthouse Point police report. She was stationed alone, Louden said.
At larger stores, several bell ringers will be out front so other volunteers can watch a kettle if one person has to take a break.
Now, Herne is stationed at a Broward Wal-Mart, where she is one of several bell ringers, Louden said.
Unfortunately, police say chances of catching the culprit are slim.
There are no witnesses, and surveillance cameras at the Publix weren't recording the area where Herne had her kettle, said Cmdr. Mike Oh, spokesman for Lighthouse Point police.
But Oh said police are still investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call 954-942-8080.
And for those who don't want to risk having their donation swiped from a kettle, there's another way to contribute: visit www.ring2help.org.
And unlike the old-fashioned kettles, this one takes credit cards.
Oh, is that so?
Unless the slimeball thief is named Salvation Army he'll never be able to cash my check.
Just saying.
Almost do the same thing, donate to the Salvation Army online and just drop pennies into the kettle.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.