The work being done by Salvation Army Red Kettle bell ringers is part of the holiday season, with some become familiar and popular faces around the Fox Valley.
One such bell ringer is Jeff Bowgren, 72, of St. Charles, who is currently in his fourth year of ringing for the Salvation Army Tri-City Corps and has consistently collected the most donations for the unit, which serves the Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles area, officials said.
“Jeff is in his fourth year now. We got matched together. I distinctly remember the day he showed up,” said Steven Hawkins, resource development director for the Salvation Army Tri-City Corps. “Jeff belongs to the Knights of Columbus at St. John Neumann Church in St. Charles and they suggested to him that if he was looking for volunteer options, why not go to the Salvation Army. He just showed up and said, ‘What can I do?’ and we started plugging him in, here and there. When he’s done bell ringing he comes back and works in our pantry.”
Bowgren said he has worked ringing the bell for the Salvation Army regularly outside the Jewel-Osco at 119 S. Randall Road in Batavia and admits “that the people just love me here.”
Watching him work, Bowgren offers a lot of service and interaction with shoppers, but says his collection totals are consistently high thanks to those living in the area.
“There are generous people in Batavia,” he said. “What I do, I say, ‘Good morning and have a good day’ and this way people come out (of the store) and if they don’t have change they walk in and come back out the side door and put money in the kitty,” Bowgren said. “I help people load their groceries too, and if I see somebody that needs a cart I go get the cart and if you need one. I’ll go get it for you, no problem. People really appreciate that kindness.”
Hawkins said regular accounting is done “in terms of how much comes in at a particular location each day.”
“We also have groups that ring for us like Tri-City Exchange Club and Kiwanis and Rotary and they are very competitive,” Hawkins said. “They always want to know, how much did we get, how much did we raise? There is some friendly competition among these groups.”
Hawkins said “from the very first year, Jeff’s totals stood out.”
“We go out and check on our ringers from time to time and we always see Jeff out there smiling and talking to everyone and being really friendly,” he said. “Ringers are just normal people so there’s a wide range. Some are very outgoing and others are shy and don’t say anything. Jeff is just terrific. He’s really out there. He helps people with their groceries and putting them in their cars.”
When a customer told Bowgren recently she just had leg surgery and needed a cart, he immediately put his bell down and went to help her.
Shortly after, Tim Hutcheson of Carol Stream stopped and pulled out a few bills and said he normally gives to the Red Kettle effort, noting that “I try to help any way that I can.”
“Whether it’s to Salvation Army or other groups, I do give,” he said. “As far as these bell ringers that sit out here hour and hour and sometimes freeze, God bless ‘em. Not everybody can do it.”
Bowgren currently works ringing the bell five to eight hours a day, Monday through Saturday, and says the time each day goes fast. When the weather gets cold, he said he wears “my boots, coveralls, hat, and gloves – any kind of weather.”
“I love it and I bring my own chair and this way, I can sit down once in a while and relax,” he said. “People are very nice and the Batavia Fire Department told me, ‘You do a fantastic job.’”
“It’s the generosity of the people getting together in Batavia,” he said.
Bowgren admits there are other volunteer opportunities he might have explored but loves ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.
“People are very nice here,” he said. “This is my station every year. I know I have the highest totals every year and don’t know if there is any competition among the other bell ringers.”
He said the secret of his success is simple.
“What I do, I talk to people, that’s number one,” he said. “If you aren’t talking to customers, you can’t do your job.”
His fans shouldn’t worry about him giving up his bell-ringing work.
“I’m doing this until I can’t do it anymore,” he said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
