Local News

Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign underway in Hampton

The annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive is underway in Hampton at the Fareway Store.

Local organizer Fritz Groszkruger tells RadioOnTheGo News the Salvation Army has helped him.

“Actually, I stayed in the Salvation Army twice in my life. I always felt like it was a worthy cause. One time I was hitchhiking through Utica, New York, and I stayed in this large room with a bunch of small beds and all these coughing old men, and I was only about 25 years old. And then the other time was in Alaska where I went up there to find a logging job and ran out of money before the season opened. I got up there too early. Boy, they saved me. It was a cold, drizzly place.”

Groszkruger says when you ring the bell, you see people from all walks of life.

“You know, especially in a town of 4,000, you see kids that are home for Christmas and people you never met before. The Hispanics used to walk by like introverted and embarrassed and now all full of smiles like everybody else and I see old friends. It’s almost turned into sort of a little meeting place out there. You know, the thing is that people think they’re helping somebody out, and they actually are. And sometimes the people that need help don’t know anybody in particular that can help them, and this is a way that the contributors can get connected to the people in need.”

Those interested in ringing the bell during the annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive in Hampton can contact Fritz at 641-425-49-29. Volunteers are needed on Fridays from 4-7pm and all day on Saturdays through Christmas Eve.

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