News Photo by Justin A. Hinkley Steve Jakubcin, left, the 2024 honorary red kettle chairman for the Salvation Army of Alpena, and Maj. Prezza Morrison, corps officer/pastor at the local Salvation Army, pose with a red kettle on Tuesday in front of the altar at the Salvation Army Church in Alpena. The local Salvation Army’s annual bell-ringing fundraising campaign kicks off Nov. 13.

ALPENA — A few years ago, leaders at the Salvation Army started hearing from needy families that no program in town offered new undergarments for their children.

So the Salvation Army started such a program.

That nimble charity is part of the reason Steve Jakubcin said he’s proud to be named the Salvation Army’s 2024 chairman of the annual red kettle campaign.

“We have an incredibly generous community, and, through that generosity, a lot of people that need support are supported,” Jakubcin said. “But, inevitably, there are cracks. The bridge that (the Salvation Army) does to fill those cracks is really commendable.”

The Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign — those famous bell-ringers collecting change in red kettles outside area stores — kicks off with a few kettles around town Nov. 13 and kettles outside of both Walmart entrances go up Nov. 16.

The Salvation Army aims to raise $185,000 this year.

As red kettle chairman (also known as Christmas chairman), Jakubcin will be the face of the Salvation Army’s fundraising push as it aims to reach that goal.

He’ll make regular appearances on social media, both on the Salvation Army’s Facebook page and before his own 2,000-plus Facebook followers, and on WATZ and elsewhere to provide updates on the Salvation Army’s progress, to highlight various bell-ringers, and to highlight some of the programs funded by red kettle collections.

“As a pastor who moves around a lot, it’s better to have someone from the community that people know that can be the face of the Salvation Army,” said Maj. Prezza Morrison, corps officer at the Alpena Salvation Army and pastor of the Alpena Salvation Army Church. “I may know a few people and I may have contact with a few people, but (Jakubcin) has a diverse group of people that he can connect with and talk to, especially with businesses. He has a lot of contact with businesses, where I may not have that in my little bubble of ministry.”

New this year, the Salvation Army hopes to secure kettle sponsorships. For $1,000, businesses can have their business name and logo on one of the signs attached to the kettle stands, which remain outside of area stores 24 hours a day. Four sponsorships remain available. Interested businesses should contact the Salvation Army at 989-358-2769.

Residents who want to support the Salvation Army can drop change in the red kettles outside several area stores, can scan a QR code on the kettle stands to give digitally, or can give to the Virtual Red Kettle at salmich.org/Alpena.

Those who wish to ring bells to help the Salvation Army meet its goal can visit RegisterToRing.com to sign up.

All of the money given to Alpena red kettles stays local and funds the local Salvation Army’s programs throughout the year, including toys for children, food for community, help with utilities, food, and personal care items, vouchers for the Salvation Army Thrift Store, gifts given to area nursing home residents at Christmas and Easter, children’s camps, the Salvation Army cantine that provides refreshments to first responders and victims at the scenes of house fires and other disasters, and housing assistance.

“It’s really to help throughout the whole year, not just the Christmas season,” Morrison said.

“I think everybody’s aware of the red kettle by now during the holiday season, but what that money that they’re putting into the kettle goes to, how it stays local, just to our community, I think maybe it gets lost, sometimes, maybe in the bell-ringing,” he said. “I think (the Christmas chairmanship) is a really neat opportunity to just raise awareness.”

That’s a role Jakubcin said he’s honored to play.

“It’s a different opportunity for me to give back to the community, which is kind of cool,” he said. “My wife and I throughout the years have had some opportunities presented before us to be able to support the community that’s supported us, so it’s always nice to have the chance to do that. It’s not lost on me at all that not everybody gets the opportunity or can, and so I’m always honored any time somebody asks me for something like this.”

News Publisher/Editor Justin Hinkley serves on the Salvation Army of Alpena Advisory Board.