Salvation Army's red kettles in Naples area get $10,000 check, other surprises

The Salvation Army Naples opened one of its red kettles last week to find a check for $10,000.

Administration at any other center in the organization would gasp. Capt. Ben Bridges, who has been commander of the Naples corps with his wife, Capt. Annie Bridges, for just a year, probably did. 

However, Bridges said he has learned the donation is an annual one from one of the Rotary Club of Naples volunteers who staff its kettle at Wynn's Market in Naples for a week. (The staffed Salvation Army kettles will be at major stores and shopping centers Mondays through Saturdays until Dec. 25.)

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The Salvation Army in the Naples area finds surprises in its 41 kettles every holiday season. This year, one received a South African Krugerrand, a rare coin with a value tied to the gold market. They're currently valued at about $1,240.

"We've heard of that happening elsewhere, but this one is our first," Ben Bridges said. 

The Salvation Army Naples also received another unusual piece, what appears to be an 18th-century Spanish colonial coin.

"We don't have a coin shop here, so we're looking for someplace to have it appraised," Ben Bridges said.

A wedding ring even came out with the collection this week. It wasn't an intentional donation, he added quickly.  

"This happens more than you’d expect. Somehow people have it in their pocket and they fish out some change, and the ring comes along with it. And at some point they say, uh-oh."

The ringers don't have a key to the locked kettle, however. The owner left his name and number and went to the headquarters to pick up the ring that night.

"It also happens people will drop jewelry in intentionally," Bridges said.

That hasn't happened here this year, however.

The Salvation Army finds Lotto tickets, generally not worth a lotto money.

"They're usually worth a dollar or so," Bridges said.

And with its abundance of international tourists, the Naples kettles take in a good deal of foreign currency, Bridges said.

"We have a big box of the Canadian currency that tourists drop in," he said. 

The Salvation Army's red kettle appeal isn't designated for any particular program, so it can help the organization for any of its social aid focuses: children's development; emergency rental and utility assistance; disaster relief; and senior programs.

With matching grants, The Salvation Army's goal is $325,000 this year, which accounts for 20 percent of the Naples area corp's annual budget. 

For more information or to donate in other ways, including to the Toys for Tots program, see salvationarmyflorida.org/naples/ or call 239-775-9447.