Tag Archive for: #salvationarmy

Henderson Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign 2025

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The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign got off to a good start in Vance County on Friday morning, with local dignitaries and members of the community on hand to get the holiday season officially underway.

Maj. Staci Gainey welcomed those gathered in front of Belk in Henderson to set the tone for the weeks ahead that lead up to Christmas. She, along with husband, Maj. Jonathan Gainey joined the local Salvation Army as Corps Officers in June.

“This moment marks the beginning of weeks filled with generosity, community spirit, and lives changed because people chose to give,” Staci Gainey said.

She thanked local businesses and community leaders for welcoming the volunteers who ring the bell by the iconic red kettles to accept donations from shoppers and others who pass by.

She also thanked those volunteers who ring the bell, calling them the “heartbeat” of the annual campaign. “Rain or shine, warm or cold, you show up with a smile, a cheerful greeting, and that familiar bell that reminds people what this Christmas season
is really about giving hope,” she said.

“May this be our best year yet,” Gainey added.

The Salvation Army provides food and other support throughout the year to those who need it, but it’s those red kettles and the tinkling bells in the hands of caring volunteers that stand out as a symbol of hope and of caring in the community.

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(The above text and audio originally posted November 14, 2025)
Salvation Army Kettle Bell

Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign Kicks Off Friday, Nov. 14

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The Henderson Salvation Army 2025 Kettle Kickoff is scheduled for Friday, November 14th at 10 a.m., taking place at Belk again this year.

Henderson Salvation Army Majors Jonathan and Staci Gainey will be participating in their first Red Kettle Drive here locally since taking over back in June.

Alongside the iconic Salvation Army symbol of giving, the bell ringers invite shoppers to donate during the holiday season to help provide food and gifts to seniors and children across Vance County and the surrounding counties it serves.

 This event is also a ribbon cutting event for the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce.  At last year’s event, then chair of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce board, Margier White said the kettles ignite a spirit of generosity in our community. She said, “Each bell that rings this season (is) not just signalling a donation,” it’s a connection that we make with people who are in need.

Salvation Army

TownTalk: Salvation Army Power Couple Ready to Help Henderson

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With about five weeks at their new posts with the Henderson Salvation Army, Majors Jonathan and Staci Gainey say they know one thing for sure: They want to stay, set down roots and have a positive impact in the community.

“We’re looking forward to being here for a very long time,” Jonathan said on Wednesday’s TownTalk. “We have no intentions of leaving.”

The couple got their assignment from the Salvation Army’s divisional commander – they had no say in that. “But we can let the Salvation Army know that we have no interest in leaving – we plan on staying,” Jonathan said.

In these first few weeks, Staci said they’ve been learning the ropes and “figuring out where they can make the best impact in our community.”

One way is helping to stock the food pantry with shelf-stable items that are distributed to households in need. If your gardens are giving you more produce than you can use, consider dropping off veggies or other fresh items. The Salvation Army has a walk-in fridge and freezer for those things.

Jonathan, who hails from Jacksonville, FL, is the one who does the preaching, teaching and challenging and Staci is the person behind the organizing and administration of the various programs, projects and services that the Salvation Army is known for.

“Staci is very gifted in leadership and administration,” Jonathan said. “We work together but we know where our strengths are.”

As time goes on, Staci said she hopes to visit civic clubs and other organizations to develop relationships and connections as they share the news and mission with the community.

The office of the Salvation Army, located at 2292 Ross Mill Rd. in Henderson, is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will accept donations and requests for help during those office hours. The phone number is 252.438.7107.

The Salvation Army helps individuals with things like food, clothing, after-school care and more, but it’s also a church.

Amidst all the programs and social services aspects of the Salvation Army, Jonathan reminds the community that they’re also ordained pastors who want to nurture people’s spiritual side.

“We meet human needs in Christ’s name without discrimination,” he said.

They’re already planning for the upcoming holiday season and folks can expect to see the familiar red kettles when they’re out and about between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

They’ll be signing up volunteer bell ringers, too.

There’s plenty to do between now and then, and the Majors Gainey are already hard at work.

“We want to be a part of this community,” Staci said. “We want to know people and want for them to get to know us as well.”

Visit https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/henderson-nc/ to learn more about how to help.

 

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Salvation Army

TownTalk: Annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Season Kicks Off

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As if on cue, November 15 provided a crisp backdrop to the morning’s Red Kettle Season Kickoff, and dozens from the community showed up outside Belk to take the opportunity to drop in the first donations of the Christmas season.

The Vance County High School chorus provided several seasonal and inspirational selections for the Salvation Army kickoff event to add an air of excitement and joy to the chilly morning’s festivities.

Whether you’re someone who hauls out the holly and puts up the tree before Thanksgiving or you’re one of those die-hards who prefers to wait until December to think about Christmas plans, you’re likely to run across a few Red Kettles and bell ringers during the next 40 days.

Alongside the iconic Salvation Army symbol of giving, the bell ringers invite shoppers to donate during the holiday season to help provide food and gifts to seniors and children across Vance County and the surrounding counties it serves.

Kettle donations “help us provide clothing and toys for children at Christmas time,” said Maj. Beth Mallard. But more than 200 senior adults also have signed up to receive food baskets, Mallard said Friday, and the funds are used to feed more than 500 people each month, all year long.

“When you walk by, make sure you drop something in the bucket,” she said.

The kettles ignite a spirit of generosity in our community, said Margier White, chair of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce board. “Each bell that rings this season (is) not just signalling a donation,” White said, “it’s a connection that we make with people who are in need.

Placing any donation – coins or bills – represents love, kindness and community support, she said.

The Salvation Army kettle is “more than just a container – it represents hope for families facing hardships.”

Call Mallard at 252.438.7107 if you’d like information about volunteering to be a bell ringer during the holiday season. You, your church or civic group can also sponsor a kettle, or participate in the Angel Tree project at https://www.tsamm.org/angeltree.

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TownTalk: Salvation Army Basketball Tournament Fundraiser

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The Salvation Army is looking for another basketball team to come out and support its inaugural effort to raise money for playground improvements.

Three teams are signed up, but the Salvation Army’s Boys & Girls Club Area Director Hope Allen said she’d like one more to sign up, which would allow for a double-elimination format for the event, which takes place Saturday, Nov. 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Salvation Army’s gym, 2092 Ross Mill Rd.

“The more teams we have, the better the outcome,” she said.

There’s a $150 entry fee per team, Allen said on Tuesday’s TownTalk. The deadline to register is this Friday, Oct. 18.

Many in the community have driven past the facility, or stopped in for a program, church service or summer camp, but Allen said the basketball games “invite people to the Salvation Army in a different way.”

Tickets are $3 for spectators, and there will be plenty of music and concessions to enjoy during the event.

Team members should be 18 years or older, Allen said. And individuals can just give her a call at 252. 438.7107 and she’ll help connect them with a team they can join.

The proceeds will go to make improvements to the playground, which is used by Club kids and others in the community.

Right now, there are close to 70 children who participate in programming at the Salvation Army. “I try my best to lead and support a good team of professionals here to teach and reach every child served,” Allen said.

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TownTalk: The Salvation Army’s Maj. Beth Mallard

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The Henderson Salvation Army’s new leader, Maj. Beth Mallard, is taking stock of the current programs offered to local residents and to those who live in all five of the counties served by the Ross Mill Road facility.

Mallard likes what she sees, and yet she sees more in her vision. It’s all about stewardship – taking care of what’s already here and putting plans in place to make the best use of available facilities.

Mallard comes to Henderson from Winston-Salem, and she said both locations have similarities that have proven helpful to her: Winston’s Salvation Army also serves five counties, so operating within a large geographical footprint is not a daunting task; it also has a large food distribution program. Mallard said the Henderson Salvation Army has already tripled its food volume since last year. There also was a vibrant senior adult program, which she also sees in the local Ageless Wonders program on Tuesdays for senior adults as well as for mentally challenged individuals.

Things are growing at the Salvation Army, she said, so she’s taken a bit of time to see what’s needed and planning for ways to adapt to the needs of the community.

When the Ross Mill Road facility was being designed, there was a vision to use the property for recreation, and Mallard said those plans are taking shape.

“One of the visions was to have these beautiful fields (become) soccer fields in the back of the building,” she said on Tuesday’s segment of TownTalk.

The money’s not there yet, but until it is, the fields have been mowed and some goals have been moved in, so the hope is that the Boys & Girls Club members can use them this fall.

Proper construction and field preparation can come later, but in the meantime, the field can be used.

Stewardship.

A Biblical definition of stewardship involves managing all resources that God provides for the betterment of His creation. Food is one of those resources, and Mallard said the food distribution program is one way to help those in the community provide for themselves and for their families.

“There’s been an uptick in people needing food,” Mallard said. So the Salvation Army stepped up its food distribution program, but it’s something to continue to work on and improve in the coming years.

Right now, Social Services Director Gina Eaves is the sole box packer, and Mallard said she’d welcome additional volunteers to come help fill boxes with canned foods, shelf-stable items and frozen meats.

If you need food, please stop by the Salvation Army location on Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you have ID, that’s fine, but if you don’t, you won’t be turned away.

Stewardship.

Mallard and her team also are managing the Salvation Army’s resources in what is sure to have a win-win outcome. This Saturday, Aug. 17, there will be a big sale at the site of the former family store located at 222 W. Montgomery St. “There’s a lot of good pieces down there,” she said.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., they’ll be making cash and carry deals to empty the former store of amazing finds, old and new.

“No offer will be refused to help clear the building out,” Mallard said. “I have plans.” Not only will it be used for warehouse space, but she wants to use it as a distribution site at Christmas.

Visit https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/henderson-nc/ to learn more about the programs and services of Henderson’s Salvation Army, located at 2292 Ross Mill Rd.

 

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Salvation Army

The Local Skinny! Salvation Army

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Major Beth Mallard is the Salvation Army’s new Corps officer serving at the Henderson location.

The organization made the announcement in mid-June; Mallard is one of a couple of dozen corps officers that assumed their new assignments across the Carolinas.

Mallard succeeds the husband-wife team of Captains Joshua and Amanda Keaton, who served at the local Salvation Army for about two years before accepting new roles as district youth secretaries for the organization’s Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi district.

The Salvation Army’s mission is to meet human needs in the name of Jesus Christ.  In addition to having church services at the Rock Mill Road facility, the Salvation Army also runs a food pantry, after-school program and a Family Store & Donation Center at 218 Raleigh Rd.

There will be a huge furniture sale on Saturday, Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at the site of the former family store at 222 W. Montgomery St.

Tune in at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13 when Maj. Mallard will be a guest on TownTalk.

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TownTalk: Salvation Army Kettle Drive And Music For The Holidays

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Jimmy Barrier describes the upcoming performance at the local Salvation Army as a Gaither-style event.

If you don’t know exactly what that means, then by all means, come out at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11 to “An Acoustical Christmas.” And if you enjoy that Gaither style of musical performance, then you already know you’re in for a treat.

Barrier will share emcee duties with the Salvation Army’s Capt. Joshua Keaton, but he will also be behind his familiar bass as he and the Sound Barriers fill the air with Christmas music and other favorites with that Gaither-style Southern Gospel feel.

The concert is free and open to the public and will be held at the Salvation Army, 2292 Ross Mill Rd.

A love offering will be taken to benefit the Anchor of Hope and the Red Shield Club, he told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk. Anchor of Hope is a women’s ministry that helps individuals in need and the Red Shield Club is the after-school program.

“It’s all acoustic, all live,” Barrier explained, “so if you make a mistake, everybody hears it.”

It didn’t take much to get Capt. Keaton and his wife, Capt. Amanda Keaton, on board with the project.

“They were elated to have the Gaither-style Christmas program,” Barrier said, adding that he hoped to make the concert an annual event and name it for the late Gill Clopton, who originally had the idea.

“I want to do that and honor him in that way,” Barrier said. He recalled that Clopton was very happy that the program had been scheduled.

Barrier said he and his wife were out shopping for blankets to donate to the Anchor of Hope’s blanket ministry the day before Thanksgiving and he found himself in the presence of someone singing Christmas carols – right inside the store.

Before he knew it, and to his wife’s chagrin, Barrier was performing a duet with Evelyn Couch.

“We started singing Christmas carols in Rose’s at the top of our lungs,” Barrier said.

But the duets didn’t stop there. He invited Couch to come and sing with the group at the recent McGregor Hall community concert last weekend.

“It was wonderful,” Barrier said of last weekend’s performance at McGregor Hall, sponsored by the Vance County Arts Council.

She will join Barrier again at the Dec. 11 concert to perform “O Holy Night.”

“She sings the fire out of it,” Barrier said.

 

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TownTalk: Kettle Drive Underway For Salvation Army

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It’s sort of like being asked to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game or to join the teams at midfield for the traditional coin toss. Dollar bills don’t make much noise as they land softly in the Big Red Kettle, but when they heard the familiar tinkling sound, the crowd assembled in front of Belk department store broke out in applause.

It’s the kickoff of the Salvation Army’s annual Kettle Campaign, y’all.

And Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington had the honor of depositing the first contribution, adding with a chuckle, that “it’s the first of many.”

The husband-and-wife team that leads the local Salvation Army, Capt. Josh and Capt. Amanda Keaton, were on hand to officially start the holiday season of giving to the Salvation Army.

This year’s goal is $75,000, Capt. Josh Keaton told the group of local officials and others assembled Wednesday morning.

“Families are facing hard choices,” he added. Ringing the bell and standing by the kettle is a way for volunteers to pitch in as a community so that others don’t have to make the choice to either pay the light bill or buy food to put on the table.

Those cheery bell ringers give of their time, he said, “while giving a little bit of hope and cheer to others.”

Belk store manager Chris Tilley said he was happy to be able to partner with the Salvation Army. In addition to having the bell ringers outside the store, patrons inside will have the opportunity at check-out to make an additional donation to the Salvation Army.

The store also will sponsor a toy drive that will begin in early December.

“This is just another great way to partner with a great organization to help children,” Tilley said.

John Metzger chairs the Salvation Army advisory committee and he said that all the money collected in the local kettles is given to the local Salvation Army and it is all used to help local residents in need.

Three local Walmarts – Henderson, Oxford and Louisburg – will have Angel Trees set up for shoppers to choose tags from and purchase toys for children.

This year’s theme is “Love Beyond,” Keaton said.

“We’re going to do our part in the community to make sure somebody else in the community has a Christmas.”

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Salvation Army

TownTalk: Welcoming Capt. Joshua Keaton To The Henderson Salvation Army

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The training that the Salvation Army provides to its leaders is thorough, to be sure. But no two places are exactly alike, and Capt. Joshua Keaton and his wife, Capt. Amanda Keaton, are still learning about Henderson as they jump in to the day-to-day operations of their new assignment.

Capt. Joshua Keaton was John C. Rose’s guest on Thursday’s Town Talk and he said it’s been a busy time since they left their previous assignment in Concord, NC, and made their way to Henderson in mid-June. Father’s Day weekend, to be exact.

The local Salvation Army, based at 2292 Ross Mill Rd., serves a handful of surrounding counties – not just Vance County. From summer day camp to daily food distributions, there’s something going on most of the time at the Ross Mill Road facility.

There are two weeks left of summer day camp, then the Vacation Bible School will be Aug. 1-5.

The after-school program cranks up on Aug. 22, with daily pickups from a number of schools in Vance and Granville counties. Keaton encourages parents to get those completed applications in as soon as possible – space is limited.

Learn more at facebook.com/tsahenderson.

Keaton said he and his wife have a long association with the Salvation Army – they met at an SA camp in West Virginia in 2006 – he was a lifeguard and she was in charge of the dining hall. They married in 2009, and he said they “saw there was a need and felt the Lord nudging us to do more.”

The “more” turned into learning all about the Salvation Army – he called their time in Georgia “730 days of full-on engagement of learning the ins and outs of the Army – what you’d basically do during seminary,” he said.

The team spent several years in Greenville, SC before moving to Concord, NC and now to Henderson. They earned the rank of Captain and hope to achieve the rank of Major when the time comes.

Whether he is overseeing local programs like food distribution, inviting people to shop at their thrift store or talking with folks who have fallen on hard times, Keaton said he and his wife are willing to meet people wherever they are.

“We see constantly people struggling – spiritually, financially – being a shoulder they can lean on in their weakest moment is always a blessing to me,” he noted.

Life can change in an instant, he said, adding that it is important for him to live a life in service to the Lord.

“Everyone needs to receive salvation,” he said. “My goal is to lead you to it…the ultimate goal is to win souls for Him.”

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