NILES — As many area residents celebrated the official start of the holiday season this weekend, they more than likely heard the jingle jangle of bells ringing, but Santa’s sleigh has not made it here yet.

Typically accompanied by a red kettle, these bells have grown nearly as synonymous with the holiday season as the man in red himself, but their purpose extends long after Dec. 25.

Niles Salvation Army Lt. Kendra Hixenbaugh is seeking the community’s help in this reaching this year’s $85,000 goal, which will fund a long list of service projects throughout the year.

“We put it towards as many programs as we possibly can throughout the year,” Hixenbaugh said. “We do rental assistance. We have a food pantry. We have a feeding program four days a week. … We have a coat closet that we do.”

Though volunteers have been collecting donations at Harding’s for a few weeks now, Hixenbaugh said guests will begin to see bell ringers more now that Thanksgiving is over. Volunteers will set up their red kettles and share cheery holiday greetings at many high-traffic locations throughout the area, including Walmart, Walgreen’s, Rural King and Lowery’s among others.

Hixenbaugh said some longtime volunteers make the donation collection fun, creating friendly competition.

“The [Niles] Optimist Club and the Kiwanis Club both take days that they ring for us, and they see who can collect more money,” she said.

However, Hixenbaugh said the Salvation Army is struggling to fill volunteer slots, and as of the day before Thanksgiving, still had 1,900 hours left to fill.

“People can register to ring online,” she said. “We prefer if it’s going to be someone under the age of 16 that they would have an adult with them, but other than that there are no requirements. Just go online and register or call us.”

Those interested may visit registertoring.com to sign up for volunteer hours, or call (269) 684-2660.

Outside Circle Credit Union in downtown Niles, those passing down E. Main Street can view the Salvation Army’s donation efforts in strands of lights.

“Every $10,000 that we raise, we light up a ring of red lights,” Hixenbaugh said. “We have one string in red right now — we’re currently at $17,000 raised, which is about 20 percent of our goal. We’ll keep the tree up throughout the collection season.”

In addition to bell ringers, the Salvation Army is also seeking volunteers and donors for its annual holiday efforts. Those wishing to sponsor a child or family in need this holiday season can get ideas from a number of Angel Trees posted at local businesses, which list items that would appeal to children who have been registered for assistance.

“We also have a toy shop that we will be doing,” Hixenbaugh said. “We do it every year and it also comes along with a food distribution. Everyone who gets toys gets food.”

Hixenbaugh is seeking volunteers to help with setup and cleanup of the toy shop before and after the event.

Last Christmas, the Salvation Army served more than 200 families throughout southeast Berrien County and Cass County, and expects to serve that many or more this year.

Once the holidays are over, the Salvation Army will continue to serve southwest Michigan with its food pantry, addiction treatment programs, Feeding His Sheep program, ministry and more — so long as the funds exist to provide those services.

“Really the main thing is get out and register at resigertoring.org,” Hixenbaugh said. “We can definitely tell when nobody has been at a kettle. We lose money by not having people out there.”