Ready for holiday giving, Salvation Army
installs giant Red Kettle in Times Square
BY DEAN MOSES
The lighting of trees and
menorahs are an annual
occurrence throughout the
city; however, Dec. 1 marked the
debut of the world’s largest Red
Kettle in Times Square, just in
time for Giving Tuesday and the
holiday season.
With COVID-19 inhibiting
volunteers from the Salvation
Army to personally gather donations
from the street, the charity
has devised a way to garner
both fi nancial contributions and
passerby’s attention through the
installation of a 7 foot, 6 inch
aluminum Red Kettle.
This symbol of the century
old organization hangs from a
32-foot-high stand on the pedestrian
walkway between 44th
and 45th streets in the heart of
Manhattan.
“We launched our world’s
largest kettle today to draw attention
to the fact that the need
of the New York area is very
great, and the Salvation Army
stands ready to meet that need
with the generous support of
New Yorkers,” said Major Kevin
Stoops, chief operating offi cer
The Salvation Army’s brass band played holiday classics during their kettle launch ceremony.
for the Salvation Army in the
New York Region.
A monument to giving and
good will, the Kettle comes
equipped with LED lights that
fl ash a spectrum of hues when a
donation is made via text message
to 41444 with the words Giant
Red Kettle, alerting everyone
nearby that a generous gift was
just made.
Stoops shared that with the
pandemic, the amount of on the
street donations has decreased.
“It’s less, we are still able to do
it under the current rules that the
administration has put through,
but it’s less. We have less stands
around the city, and so being able
to text to give is very helpful.
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
People can still support us even
without seeing a red kettle,” he
said.
The lighting commenced with
members of the Salvation Army’s
brass band playing holiday classics,
such as “Joy to the World”
and “We Wish you a Merry
Christmas,” before offi cials christened
the Kettle with speeches.
“As I look at this beautiful
symbol of hope for millions of
New Yorkers, my heart is fi lled
with joy. As this kettle travels,
it will remind all who see it of
how great the needs of our community
are and that the Salvation
Army is always there to help,”
said Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo
Fernandez, New York’s Divisional
Commander at the Salvation
Army.
The charity is not only facing
a harder time this year due to
fewer volunteers, but a greater
hardship thanks to the lack of
tourists visiting New York City
landmarks. The pandemic has
crippled tourism in addition to
income, less feet fl ooding the city
streets likewise means less people
able to give.
The Kettle will remain at
Times Square until Dec. 6 before
being moved around the city until
returning to Times Square on
Christmas Day.
On Giving Tuesday, this kettle
is a part of the Salvation Army’s
nationwide campaign, “Help
Rescue Christmas,” for those who
are facing hunger, job loss and
poverty, all of which have been
exacerbated by the pandemic.
Gramercy rally in solidarity with India protests
BY DEAN MOSES
Traffi c came to a screeching
halt on Third Avenue and
East 23rd Street during
the late afternoon on Dec. 1
thanks to a convoy of automobiles
protesting in solidarity with the
thousands of farmers in India
who are fi ghting against new
pro-market agricultural policies.
The parade of vehicles were
fi lled with passengers hanging
outside of car windows and spring
up from sunroofs holding signs
and shouting, “No Farmers, No
Food!”
In India, farmers have historically
undergone endless debt to
the point where several commit
suicide. From requesting debt
waivers to maintaining Minimum
Support Price (MSP), farmers
provide food for over 60% of
India’s population, but this new
change has instilled a fear that the
current administration will shift
to benefi t to major corporations
instead of landowners.
Awareness of this international
issue was brought to Manhattan
thanks to concerned New Yorkers,
who are enraged by the farmers’
treatment.
To match the farmers on
tractors blockading the streets
of New Delhi, protesters drove
their vehicles along the city streets
blocking traffi c up Third Avenue.
These new policies scrap the standard
farming traditions of selling
produce at wholesale markets for
minimum assured crop prices to
creating a more open system, allowing
produce to be sold widely
and to big corporations.
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Protesters are enraged by the treatment of farmers in New Delhi, India.
4 December 3, 2020 Schneps Media