Thursday, February 18, 2010

There is a new member of The Salvation Army family.

As part of a new series in our blog, once a month Captain Kettle, The Salvation Army red kettle, will visit a Salvation Army DFW Community Center to see all the great things that are happening.

Before we see where Captain Kettle visits first, here’s a quick look at the history of the red kettle:

It all started in 1891… Captain Joseph McFee wanted to help the poor people in San Francisco, but he did not know where to get the funding for his project.



Captain McFee's idea spread, and in 1890, a nationwide effort was able to fund 150,000 Christmas dinners for the poor.
The following day, Captain McFee placed a pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing. Beside the pot was a sign that read "Keep the Pot Boiling."

He was able to collect enough donations to have a Christmas dinner for the people in need.
He remembered, during his early days as a sailor in Liverpool, England, seeing a large kettle called "Simpson's Pot" where passengers of boats tossed coins to help the poor.

And that is how the red kettle started!

Without further ado, allow me to introduce Captain Kettle.

His first visit… drum roll please….




Captain Kettle checked out the center’s food pantry and what did he see?

…The Salvation Army Plano keeping busy by providing bags of groceries to clients in the community.

In January 2010, 447 adults and 351 children received assistance from the food pantry, of the total 321 people were first time recipients of the service.

A total of 544 bags of groceries were distributed to people in need in the Plano community.

Stacy Koster, Salvation Army Plano social worker, says it’s unreal how many people they are assisting with food pantry requests.



It makes me really sad. No child in Plano should go hungry,” Koster said.








The Salvation Army’s food pantry in Plano is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. - noon and 1- 3 p.m.

If you’d like to donate to The Salvation Army hunger drive, please click here.

Stay tuned to see where Captain Kettle visits next!

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