Longboat Kiwanis Club's seasonal bell-ringing opens Saturday

Bells will be ringing the glad, glad news … of the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key’s 2020 Salvation Army Bell Ringing. The club will begin collecting donations outside Publix at the Shoppes of Bay Isles on Nov. 28. 

Kiwanis is keeping with the tradition this year and members hope to bring in a lot of money as in years past — the club is consistently one of the highest fundraisers in the Sarasota area and often have a paint stirring stick on hand to stuff bills farther into the kettle to make room for more. 

“People really get into the spirit of things,” former organizer Ed Krepela said. “That’s just the kind of generosity we get in our kettles.”

In addition, all $20 bills donated in the greater Sarasota area will be matched by an anonymous donor, a match that's been going on since 2017. 

The logistics of bell-ringing won’t change too much with the ongoing pandemic, 2020 organizer Chris Sachs said. Bell-ringers will be strongly encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distancing (club President Lynn Larson noted she won’t be giving out Christmas hugs this year). Overall, Sachs said the club will follow the town’s COVID-19 guidelines. 

“Out of an abundance of caution (we will encourage masks),” Sachs said. “We also don’t want to put anybody off and we don’t want anybody to not come out of reasons for their safety.”

Larson and Sachs said they will wear masks, and Sachs is going to bring the Christmas cheer with his. 

“I’ve been on Amazon looking for Santa Claus COVID masks,” he said. 

Sachs takes over the organization from fellow Kiwanian Krepela who’s coordinated the volunteer schedule for years. This year, however, Krepela is passing the torch to Sachs and taking time to meet the youngest of his nine great-grandchildren for the first time, and will be in New York as the bell ringing starts. 

Some people who have volunteered in the past are not comfortable greeting strangers due to the pandemic, so there is a smaller volunteer pool this year, Sachs said. Any prospective volunteers are welcome. Email Sachs at [email protected].