It's that time of year again, when the Salvation Army begins ringing bells at red kettles throughout the Quad Cities. On Friday morning, it kicked off its "Make a Difference" campaign outside a Hy-Vee store in Moline.
Captain Tim North says the goal this year is to raise $825,000.
"Part of it is, the need is great, so we've got to be able to fund the need. We're probably pushing 50+ sites throughout the Quad City area."
And, for the first time, the Salvation Army will accept donations through Google Pay and Apple Pay in order to keep up with the times.
"Well, of course, [with] our kettles, we've been traditional with just cash and everybody, or a lot of people, are no longer carrying cash. Now, it's cards and now, of course, with all of the phones and smartphones... we're just trying to come up to what people do."
Volunteers can sign up to ring bells for the Salvation Army this holiday season online at register-to-ring.com.