ORLANDO, Fla. – Bell ringers with the Salvation Army have officially stopped for the holiday season.
In Orlando, the organization said that it expects to have raised a little less than $300,000.
"From all over Orange County, we have Christmas kettles everywhere, and so we are part of Christmas. We are the fabric of Christmas, we feel, and so we are honored to be standing in front of various stores and merchants allowing us to do that really blesses us," said Maj. Ted Morris, Salvation Army of Metropolitan Orlando.
A trend the Salvation Army said that it has been seeing is less foot traffic into local stores, with people choosing online shopping. So, it, too, is changing with the times.
"We have what we call online bells and so they can text 'BELLS' to 71777 and provide online those who prefer online shopping can do it that way as well," Morris said.
The money goes towards the organization's yearly operating budget to help provide assistance for people in central Florida.
"We've been out there, and our people have been out, and so we just appreciate the communities support in many ways, through the Christmas kettles, through the Angel Tree program and year round, because we work 24/7, and the support year round really helps us with what we do," Morris said.