Salvation Army Pastor Crochets Scarves, Gifts for Red Kettle Volunteers

Capt. Steven Salmon learned to crochet so he could make handmade gifts for volunteers.

Salvation Army Captain Steve Salmon crochets items for red kettle volunteers. Courtesy of The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army’s red donation kettles, often manned by a volunteer bell ringer, are a familiar sight across the United States during the five weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

First used in San Francisco in 1891, the kettle—now a sturdy bucket with a lid and padlock—has long been a principal fundraising tool for the evangelical Christian organization’s local outposts, called “corps,” following the military terminology used since the organization’s founding.