Vivian Hughbanks | Collegian
Sophomore Genevive Chiara and senior Emma Kendro rang bells outside the Student Union for the Salvation Army on Tuesday afternoon.
The spirit of giving will include a competitive spirit this year as Hillsdale College and the Hillsdale Community Health Center compete to see who can raise the most money for Salvation Army through bell-ringing.
The two institutions will each have a Saturday to ring bells outside of Kroger on W. Carleton Road with the college ringing on Dec. 12 and the Hillsdale Community Health Center ringing Dec. 19. The Salvation Army will count and total the money raised at the end of each day.
Brock Lutz, director of campus health services and member of the Salvation Army advisory board, began the challenge when he approached Jeremiah Hodshire ’99, the director of organizational development at HCHC, with the idea to compete in raising funds for Salvation Army.
“One thing that was successful last year in Hillsdale County was that certain organizations challenged other organizations,” Lutz said. “For example, the police department challenged the fire department to see who could raise more money. That made me think, ‘Could we get involved with something in that capacity?’”
Lutz said the hospital seemed to be a good competition for the college, since they are the two largest employers in Hillsdale County.
According to Hodshire, the competition will represent an important effort to make a difference in the Hillsdale community.
“Both organizations represent the top employers within the county, and we feel it is critical to give back to the community which supports us,” he said in an email.
Although bell-ringing raises money for a serious cause, Lutz said he hopes to make the light-hearted competition with the hospital an annual occurrence.
“Whoever raises the most money will win the challenge,” he said. “I think there might be a trophy involved that may be passed back and forth.”
Both Lutz and Hodshire said slots for bell-ringing are filling up quickly, and nearly 40 people from the Hillsdale Community Health Center have signed up already.
Lutz also organized a bell-ringing competition between the sororities and fraternities at the kettle outside Mossey Library.
According to senior Emma Kendro, president of the Panhellenic Council, this year’s competition will help increase enthusiasm for the bell-ringing campaign.
“The Greek houses usually do bell-ringing every year, but Brock proposed the idea of making the bell-ringing into a competition in order to encourage more participation,” she said in an email. “All of the Greek houses were on board with the idea because philanthropy is an important part of Greek life and something we all value.”
In addition to volunteering, Lutz said students can participate by donating to the bell-ringing campaign.
“I would encourage people to donate,” he said. “It really is a great cause. It stands for good things. If you make a commitment that every time you walk into Bon Appétit that you’re going to drop a dollar in the bucket, the money really is well-used. I think it would really benefit our community quite a bit.”
