By JOY LEIKER
jleiker@muncie.gannett.com
NEW CASTLE -- Shelia Marion doesn't think of herself as anything special. But officials at the New Castle Salvation Army office do.
It's the time of year when Salvation Army officers search for volunteers to stand next to red kettles, ring a bell and collect money to help the needy. There are never enough volunteers, said Telinda Wilson of the New Castle office.
That's why people like Marion are special, Wilson said. She's done more than just sign up for a shift outside a cold store. This is the third year she's told the Salvation Army office that she'll take care of one kettle -- at the local Kroger store -- every Friday leading up to Christmas in December. This year, she added Christmas Eve, a Saturday, to her schedule.
Marion taps fellow volunteers in the Healthy Communities of Henry County organization that she's a part of, and also asks her friends and neighbors to sign up for a shift.
"I enjoy doing it," she said. "I was (familiar with Salvation Army) but I didn't realize how much of a need there was."
So she's created a circle of friends and made up a schedule. When there's a two-hour shift left open, she fills it herself.
"It's not that hard, and my circle keeps growing. I have three friends who have volunteered and they've never bell-ringed before. I think it's just a matter of asking," Marion said.
For Marion, it's more than just doing a good deed for the Salvation Army, an organization that has been in New Castle for 33 years. She's involved with Healthy Communities and lots of other local organizations, and said she's constantly asking other people in the community to help with those efforts.
"I felt like we needed to give back. We're always trying to raise money," she said of Healthy Communities.
Beth Branscum, outreach program coordinator at the New Castle office, said this year's kettle campaign goal is $17,600. Marion has her own goal -- to surpass the $2,045 she and her friends collected last year.
"I think people ... have lost sight of what Christmas is all about. It's all about giving and not receiving. I'd rather give than receive," she said.
Contact Henry and Randolph county reporter Joy Leiker at 213-5825.
Originally published December 18, 2005 in the Muncie Star Press. Used with Permission.