Sure, you could have just pretended to enjoy the tuba and jingle bells and thrown a few bucks in their globe, but, too late. Now they’re going to blast you with something even louder and more obnoxious. (Photo: Jamie In Bytown, flickr.)
TORONTO—Get ready to have the change blasted right out of your pockets this holiday season. The Salvation Army is replacing its ubiquitous ringing bell with something that packs more punch.
“I’m pleased to launch the Wake Up! to Poverty campaign,” Salvation Army in Canada’s Territorial Commander, Commissioner Susan McMillan, announced last week. “With a blast from this air horn, I commence the season of giving!”
After donation totals slipped last year, the organization began brainstorming ways to encourage people to dig deeper this December. “We felt the tinkling of the bell had become background noise rather than a call to action,” said Toronto director, Samantha Wells. “People need to be jolted out of complacency.”
The group rejected cymbals, whistles and vuvulezas before settling on the air horn as its new attention getter. “It’s easy for our volunteers to use, and it’s portable,” said Wells. “Also, it’s very loud.”
When asked whether blaring a horn in public spaces is a Christian thing to do, Wells said it’s a means to an end. “People in need will still lack basic necessities, regardless of our patrons’ compromised hearing.”
Volunteers will be given a vest, air horn and ear plugs. Salvation Army donation kettles will be out until December 24th.