Bargain-hunters and rarity collectors love going to Salvation Army shops because there’s a decent chance that someone has unwittingly donated a valuable dress, pair of boots, books, toys, or record collection. What they don’t expect to find are the cremated remains of another human being. [More]
salvation army
Anonymous Donors Leave $500,000 Check In Minnesota Salvation Army Kettle
By 11.30.15
Anonymous donors in Minnesota’s Twin Cities were certainly in the giving mood over the weekend, slipping a $500,000 check into a Salvation Army kettle. Unsurprisingly, it’s snagged the record for the area’s biggest kettle donation to date. [More]
Former Salvation Army Bell Ringer Offers $21K To Return Widow’s Donated Wedding Rings
By 12.15.14
Remember the story of the widow who donated her wedding rings to the Salvation Army? One good turn deserves another, as another anonymous donor is stepping up to buy the rings for $21,000 — so she can return them to their generous owner. [More]
Widow Puts Her Diamond Ring In Salvation Army Kettle (On Purpose)
By 12.9.14
While we’ve heard our fair share of stories where wedding rings or other jewelry accidentally end up in donations bins or tip jars, this time a diamond ring was placed in a Salvation Army Kettle entirely on purpose, as an act of charity from an anonymous widow who said donated it in honor of her late husband. [More]
Someone Has Dropped A Gold Coin In Town’s Salvation Army Kettle 5 Years In A Row
By 12.13.13
I’d like to imagine that whichever Kokomo, Ind. resident (not to be confused with the place the Beach Boys are singing about) who is dropping valuable gold coins into a Salvation Army kettle every year for the past five is the kind of person who lives in a ramshackle house on the edge of town where the kids can’t help but peer in the windows and wonder. Is this a hermit with a heart of gold and the coins to match? [More]
Salvation Army Worker Trying To Set Bell-Ringing Record With 80-Hour Attempt
By 12.3.13
As of 11 a.m. this morning, a Salvation Army captain in Minnesota has embarked upon the grueling task of standing outside and ringing his bell for 80 hours straight. He won’t be sitting, eating or drink during the world record attempt, which also has the goal of raising around $300 per hour. [More]
Awfully Nice Person Drops $500 Gold Coin Wrapped In $100 Bill Into Salvation Army Kettle
By 12.12.12
For hours upon hours during the holidays, Salvation Army volunteers stand on streets across America, ringing that bell and calling passers-by to stop a moment, drop a bit of change in, and do some good. And once in a while, one of those people will drop a bit more than the change scraped out of the bottom of a purse. One officer was shocked and pleased to find not just a $100 bill in his red kettle, but also a gold coin worth $500 wrapped inside of it. Happy Holidays, eh? [More]
Tiny Bell-Ringing Horse Increases Salvation Army Donations Tenfold
By 12.4.12
You know what people love? Animals. If you’re looking to collect donations for charity, consider deploying a small, cute animal to attract attention and piles of cash. That’s what the Salvation Army in Wisconsin has done with Tinker the miniature horse. The bell-ringing equine attracts massive crowds, sells buttons with his photo on them, and can rake in $2,500 at a location that would normally collect $250 during a horse-free period. [More]
Sorry, But Calling In A Noise Complaint On Salvation Army Bell Ringers Won’t Work
By 11.21.12
A downtown shop worker in Portsmouth, N.H. is either a whiny Grinch or a brave hero, depending on your point of view. Tired of the infernal dinging once Salvation Army kettles set up for the holiday season outside of her store, she decided to fight back by calling a noise complaint in to the police. The complaint did not make the bell-ringers go away, alas. [More]
Where Do All Your Used Clothes Ultimately End Up?
By 6.20.12
When you clean out your closet and fill up a bag to donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army with stuff that no longer fits or you just don’t want, it might be the end of your time with those high-waisted jeans or Barenaked Ladies concert tee. But it’s just the beginning of a long, winding path that can terminate thousands of miles and an ocean away. [More]
Salvation Army Bell Ringers Will Accept Credit Card Payments With Their Smart Phones
By 11.16.11
The Salvation Army has announced that they are testing Square, a service that allows a smart phone to accept credit card payments. The test will take place at 40 locations in Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. Previous attempts at accepting credit cards weren’t successful, but the Army is feeling optimistic that consumers will adopt this new way of paying. [More]
Macmillan Publishing Writes Happy Ending For Damaged Thrift Shop Book
By 7.10.10
An anonymous reader picked up a copy of Ben Bova’s Mars Life from the Salvation Army without realizing that it was missing thirty-two pages. Books don’t come with warranties, but our reader wanted to know how the story ended. Would the New Morality conservatives stop people from examining that eerie Martian fossil? Would the U.S. government ever solve the pressing environmental crisis? How would our reader know without the missing pages?! Macmillan publishing had the answer. [More]
Apparently, The Salvation Army Doesn't Want My Stuff
By 7.1.10
Jing tells Consumerist that he she thought that donating some items to the Salvation Army would be satisfying and relatively simple. Unfortunately, he she hadn’t counted on the people handling pickups for his her local branch to have the sort of vague sense of time that one normally associates with cable installers or appliance repair technicians. [More]
Salvation Army To Accept Credit Cards In Kettles
By 11.27.09
Do you brush off Salvation Army bell-ringers, saying that you don’t have any cash? In certain cities, you’ll need to find a different excuse. This holiday season, the ubiquitous charity introduces kettles that accept credit cards. [More]
Salvation Army: Some People Who Used To Be Donors Are Now "Clients"
By 12.18.08
If the Salvation Army is a charity that you usually support, they could really use your help this year. Donations are down and, according to a press release issued Tuesday, former donors are now “clients.”
Target: Internet Bell Ringing Only, Please
By 11.16.06
According to the Chicago Sun-Times:
“Target Corp.’s policy of prohibiting Salvation Army bell ringers on its property will remain in force this Christmas season, but the Minneapolis-based retailer said Tuesday it will donate $1 million to launch an online version of the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.
