Rotarians ring the bell

Published 9:17 pm Monday, December 12, 2011

The Suffolk Rotary Club partnered with the Suffolk chapter of the Salvation Army recently by ringing bells for their annual campaign.

For every volunteer bell-ringer, the Salvation Army nets more contributions by not having to pay an employee to ring them. Suffolk Rotarians enjoyed the volunteer project so much last year that the club decided to participate again this year.

Rotarian Randy Hicks and 6-year-old Jacob Belcher, son of Rotarian Patrick Belcher, help raise money for the Salvation Army.

Twenty-one Suffolk Rotarians rang bells at the downtown Suffolk Walmart on Dec. 3, raising $541.35 with the support of Suffolk’s citizens.

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“Ringing the bell put me in the holiday spirit,” Rotarian Lydia Duke said. “It seemed to me that more people contributed this year than in 2010, and I must add that most did so with bills instead of change. The children were the sweetest — so focused on getting their money into the kettle. It was a positive experience for me to see the all the smiles as we raised money to help the community.”

Participants included President Kenda Council, Betsy Totten, Ellie Holland, Wayne Scott, Bobby House, Jay Butler, Randy Hicks, Patrick Belcher, Lin Callis, David Love, Ruffin Alphin, John Dowd, Chris Dowd, Lydia Duke, Jeff Persons, Mitch Wilcox, Dixon Rollins, Scott Mills, Jennifer Schneider, Bruce Bowles and Joe Webb.