Christmas Kettle

I learned a lot about people by volunteering three hours of my time on Saturday to stand by Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle in Wal-Mart. By the end of the day, I would put money on the fact that my ball held more than $600.00. I think that is pretty awesome. It warms my cold soul to know that there are still people out there willing to donate their hard earned money in tough times. Even more, I love that people often said that what I am doing is amazing and they were glad to see me out there. But it's not like I fought crime - I sipped tea and jingled a bell occasionally.


Observations:

-Kids are curious; they want to know why I am standing by a ball shaking a bell, after I tell them the story it looks like I've just told them there is no Santa.
-Kids want to donate more than adults do.
-A lot of people donate $10.00 to $20.00.
-One lady even wrote a cheque.
-Even more people donate their pocket lint amongst a few quarters. But I realize every bit counts.
-I often went for fifteen minutes without any donators, but once the first person put some money in, they all did. Monkey see, monkey do.
-A huge number of people will not make eye-contact with me, even if they know me.
-More people are able to say, "Good for you, volunteering your time for a good cause!" and then not donate.
-Way too many people go to Wal-Mart just for the McDonald's.
-Dog food was the most popular item purchased.
-The greater at Wal-Mart often asks people to take off their jackets and hand over their purses if their alarm goes off. This embarrasses people.
-Apparently it is okay to give your kids money for toys and leave them at Wal-Mart for most of the day while you run your other errands. :(
-Kids with animal faces on their toques make my heart melt. I want kids.