From Staff Reports
COLUMBIA, TN — Two middle school sisters here are ringing bells this Christmas in conjunction with their Beta Club memberships.
Courtlyn James and her sister, Paizley James, are among many Salvation Army volunteers who are ringing bells to attract donations to the international charity.
The sisters’ mother, Renita James, says they attend Maury County’s Whitthorne Middle School and are members of the school’s Junior Beta Club. It promotes academic achievement, character, service and leadership among students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
The Salvation Army now has volunteers ringing bells at thousands of the Christian Protestant church’s signature red kettles where they accept donations.
At a grocery in Columbia on South James Campbell Boulevard recently, bellringers Courtlyn and Paizley were helped by their little sister, Matti, and their mother. The older James sisters volunteer time and efforts in connection with their middle school Beta Club membership. Club membership requires them to: maintain good grades in school; perform acts of service; and, offer leadership for the betterment of their community.
The Salvation Army offers a wide variety of services including homeless shelters in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Memphis and many American cities and other nations. Founded in 1865 by the Rev. William Booth and his wife, Catherine, the Christian movement has a quasi-military structure. It’s an evangelical part of the universal Christian church to meet human needs in the name of Jesus Christ. The organization began in London, England.
