MACON, Ga. — The red kettles are no longer the only way to donate to Macon's Salvation Army. This holiday season, there will now be QR codes for all the folks who don't carry cash but still want to help. Sgt. Austin Sturdivant said the change was necessary.
"'Hey, I don't have any cash. Do you have a credit card machine?' so it became more and more apparent that we needed a digital option," Sturdivant said.
It's all at the touch of your phone. Your donation helps fund the Salvation Army's services for the entire year.
"A lot of people think that this just goes towards Christmas time but our goal this year is to make $150,000 because it goes towards our programs year-round," Sturdivant said.
The majority of your donation is going right to the people who need it.
"87 cents of every dollar that goes into that bucket goes directly to our programs year-round," Sturdivant said.
Sturdivant wants people to be cautious and make sure their donations are going to the right place.
"When you scan the QR code, you want to make sure it's taking you Salvation Army slash Macon to our donate page. If it's taking you anywhere else, trying to redirect you, more than likely it's a scam. You definitely want to make sure that it's taking you to the right place," Sturdivant said.
Dakota Ellis is a senior at Mercer. She spent four hours ringing the bell because she supports the Salvation Army's mission.
"I think they do a lot of great things. They cover the scope of homelessness, hunger, and helping women and children. I think it's great," Eliis said.
Even though the QR codes are posted. Ellis thinks it's important to have that well-known scene of someone ringing the bell next to the kettle.
"You get to engage with people and I love doing that and telling them Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and seeing them smile and sometimes you can just make somebody's day by doing that," Ellis said.
You can find the QR codes and the red kettles at every Walmart and Kroger in Macon. You can even find some at the Walmart in Forsyth. The kettles will be out until Dec. 23. However, you can donate anytime on Macon's Salvation Army website.