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It\u2019s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Christmas trees wrapped in lights, hanging wreaths, garlands and bows all symbolize the return of the festive season. Another sight come to be expected during the holiday is streets lined with The Salvation Army\u2019s huge red brass kettles and the ever familiar sound of bells being rung by a smiling and cheerful volunteer beckoning to passers-by to make a little noise of their own by dropping coins in the tin and spreading good will and cheer by making the Christmas season, for someone a little less fortunate, a bit brighter.<\/p>\n
At a ceremony, recently held in the food court of the Mall at Marathon with the melodious sounds of the St. Anne\u2019s School Choir and the Royal Bahamas Police Force Pop Band wafting through the air, The Salvation Army\u2019s Christmas Kettle Drive was officially launched as Bernadette Christie, wife of Prime Minister Perry G. Christie, made the first donation into the kettle.<\/p>\n
Over the next month, red kettles will be distributed to 30 businesses around New Providence. On Saturdays, volunteers from the service and civic clubs in Nassau will accept responsibility for manning the kettles. \u201cFriendly competition\u201d among these groups is high as the group raising the most funds are recognized during a Bell-Ringers\u2019 Appreciation Luncheon at the culmination of the program.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEach year, we appeal to persons, usually caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season making last minute purchases to dig a little deeper in their pocket and purses which goes\u00a0 a long way to assist us in our mandate of meeting human need without discrimination,\u201d said Major Lester Ferguson Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army. \u201cWe have seen an increase in persons, young and old, requiring food assistance. While the majority of us will be enjoying lavish Christmas dinners with all the fixings, there will be many among us who will have no holiday at all. These funds will be used in The Army\u2019s Christmas and ongoing welfare and community services.\u201d<\/p>\n
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With donations received during last year\u2019s Christmas season, The Salvation Army provided more than 5,125 individuals and families with meals, grocery baskets, food vouchers, toys and personal care kits during the Christmas\u00a0\u00a0 And because the needs are so great,\u00a0 Major Ferguson expects that number to increase significantly this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirstly, I wish to thank all who have donated to The Army\u2019s Kettle drive in the past and encourage your continued support as we are unable to provide the service without you. For those who have yet to give, no amount is too small. Let\u2019s make this 2013 annual drive a record breaker, in terms of funds received, and one for the books.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane Phillips and Associates<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Captions:<\/em><\/span> First in Line – Mrs. Bernadette Christie, wife of Prime Minister Perry G. Christie, makes the first donation of the season during The Salvation Army\u2019s Annual Christmas Kettle Drive launch recently held at the Mall at Marathon. Photo by Derek Smith Jr.)<\/em><\/span> The Salvation Army\u2019s huge red brass kettles and the ever familiar sound of bells being rung by a smiling and cheerful volunteer is a familiar sight during the Christmas season…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[61,117,133,422,163],"class_list":["post-43690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-charity","tag-christmas","tag-community","tag-people","tag-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nChristmas Kettle Drive Launched – At a ceremony recently held at the Mall at Marathon, The Salvation Army launched its Annual Christmas Kettle Drive with Bernadette Christie, wife of Prime Minister Perry G. Christie making the first official donation. Pictured l-r: Commissioner of Police, Ellison Greenslade; Vice Chair The Salvation Army Board, Felix Stubbs; Chairman of The Salvation Army Board, Judy V. C. Munroe, OBE.; Bernadette Christie, wife of the Prime Minister; Divisional Commander The Salvation Army, Major Lester Ferguson and Divisional Secretary The Salvation Army, Major Oral Morris (Photo by Derek Smith Jr.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nAdding Christmas Cheer – St. Anne\u2019s School Choir sings Christmas carols, adding to the festivities of The Salvation Army\u2019s Annual Christmas Kettle Drive launch held at the Mall at Marathon. (Photo by Derek Smith Jr.)<\/em><\/span>
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\nSweet Serenade – Lead singer of the Royal Bahamas Police Pop Band serenades a guest at The Salvation Army\u2019s Annual Christmas Kettle Drive launch recently held at the Mall at Marathon. (Photo by Derek Smith Jr.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"