COLORADO SPRINGS — There could be less jingle in the Salvation’s Army’s hallmark red kettles this season. The charity is testing kettles that take debit and credit cards.
The growth of so-called plastic kettles comes as fewer shoppers carry cash. Bell ringers who stand outside stores during the holiday season say that more and more shoppers are shaking their heads and smiling as they pass by, apologizing for not having spare change or cash to drop in the red kettles.
Last year, the Salvation Army tested the credit machines in Colorado Springs and Dallas. This year, the plastic kettles will be tested in more than 120 cities, including Denver.
In Colorado Springs, fundraising last year went up $64,000 from the year before, an 11 percent increase. About $5,000 of the increase was from donors using credit or debit cards at the kettles.
Denver-area bell ringers getting ready to try the new machines said the plastic kettles could make it safer to volunteer. The charity insists that red-kettle thefts are rare, but volunteer bell ringers say robberies happen and that volunteers would be safer standing next to kettles with less cash.
The Associated Press
