Turlock Police Chief Jason Hedden and Captain Steve Rodrigues were rushing around a crowded building on Tuesday. No, they weren’t responding to a crime, instead they were part of the Santa’s Law Squad Kettle Klash team and were rounding up donations for the Turlock Salvation Army Corps.

Every year at this time, local businesses, organizations and individuals come together to support the Turlock Salvation Army and its biggest fundraising drive of the year — red kettle season.

At Tuesday’s Kettle Kick Off Luncheon, seven teams rushed around The Grand Oak dining room to collect donations from attendees. The Kettle Klash, as it’s known, is a frantic five minutes of fun and giving. 

The team that collected the most donations this year was We Can Build It — made up of Jerry Powell and Clark Hulbert — with $29,435.

A total of $77,654 was collected during the Kettle Klash, which was more than last year’s total of $75,000, but short of the event’s goal of raising $100,000 this year. After announcing the total raised, Salvation Army Advisory Board Chair Neil Weese put on his auctioneer’s hat (symbolically) and raised an additional $1,500 to bring the total for this year up to $79,154.

Earlier in Tuesday’s event, Major Derek Strickland, who is the general secretary of the Salvation Army divisional headquarters in San Francisco, shared with attendees the history of the red kettle.

“The history of the red kettle begins in 1891, when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee in San Francisco was deeply troubled by the number of people going hungry during the holiday season…Inspired by his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England, where he had seen a large iron kettle used to collect donations for the poor, he decided to try the same thing in San Francisco. He placed a pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing with a sign on the black pot that said, ‘keep the pot boiling.’ The idea caught on quickly and by 1897 the Red Kettle campaign had spread to the East Coast…Today, if you travel the world, you’ll see our red kettles in places such as Korea, Japan and down south in Chile,” he said.

Strickland went on to say that the campaign is more than just a fundraising effort, “it’s a beacon of hope for millions.” Last year, the Salvation Army nationally raised over $100 million to support its programs ranging from food boxes, to help paying utilities for struggling families, to senior low-income housing and after-school programs for children.

“The sign of a red kettle and the sound of a bell ringing remind us of the spirit of giving and the importance of helping those in need. It encourages communities to come tougher and support one another, fostering a sense of unity and compassion,” he said.

Local entrepreneur and business leader Dan Costa also shared with Kettle Kickoff attendees how he got involved with the Salvation Army. The CEO of Innov8 Partners in Modesto — and previous owner of a slew of businesses including Mallard’s restaurant, Royal Robbins, 5.11 Tactical, Kevin’s Natural Foods, First Tactical, Noble Outfitters, and others — was challenged as a young man to use his creativity to start giving back to the community. 

“I decided my first creative endeavor for the Salvation Army was a golf tournament. So, I held a golf tournament in Modesto, and that first tournament was in 1978, and it goes on every year since then,” Costa said. 

He then started a one night dinner event where people bid on coming to his house for a meal. It grew so that 25 or 30 individuals would hold dinners at their homes for 12 to 14 people each year. He also started serving Thanksgiving dinner to those in need, struggling financially or just lonely. The Salvation Army in Modesto was serving about 250 people each Thanksgiving. When he did the first holiday meal, he served 600. This will be the 35th year he will serving up a Thanksgiving meal in Modesto.

“So as a business person — and I love business, I love partnerships and I love to be creative with many things and sell things and keep going — but you can’t deny the perfection of your investment in the Salvation Army, Can’t beat it,” Costa said.

Turlock Salvation Army Corp Captain Jeff Breazeale said that this will be the first year for an all-volunteer team ringing bells next to red kettles located at businesses across town. Those wishing to volunteer to ring bells can go to: registertoring.com. They also have ‘virtual kettles’ available where individuals can volunteer to set up a fundraising account, share the link with friends, colleagues and family members and all the donations will go straight the Turlock SA Corps.