With the holidays just around the corner, the Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to staff the red donation kettles and ring bells outside local businesses.

Salvation Army local service unit chairman Shannon Cox said the organization will take “as many as we can. We have openings all the way from Thanksgiving to Christmas.”

The Salvation Army has used the red kettles and bell ringers for more than 100 years, Cox said, to collect donations during the holidays.

“We have a lot of church groups and different groups that ring,” he said. “We’ve probably had 200 to 300 different people ringing for us (annually).”

Everything donated during the kettle drive stays within the community, he said.

“Everything raised here stays here in Winchester,” Cox said. “We do a lot of assistance for people. We help with utilities and rent and transitional stuff. We do Christmas presents from the angel tree.”

Bell ringing hours are flexible, and are open to anyone who is interested, he said.

“Most people would do an hour,” he said. “I have a lot of groups who will sign up for a four-hour block or a six-hour block. We have families that have done it for two or three hours, and families that have done it for years.

“We make sure people don’t feel inconvenienced by it.”

For more information or to volunteer, contact Cox at 859-437-0135 or cox1828@roadrunner.com.