“I started ringing the bell back in 2012, or so.  I was living in Oregon. The economy was still recovering from the crash back then. And pretty much the only place I could dependably get a job was the Salvation Army. I went to Goodwill one day and found a stuffed lion in the toy secttion–it was a puppet. I was like, ‘I can make that work.’ I’ve had a puppet with me ringing the bell ever since. I upgraded to a big sheepdog for a while. My brother heard it was cheaper to live in Alabama than in Oregon–he and my mom moved down here. I moved here about three years ago. The last year has been a little harder, so I got a job ringing the bell again for the Salvation Army. This is Bandit; some friends helped me buy him. Bandit makes people smile. That’s why I like this job. It’s being nice to people and making them feel good. And the money goes to charity to help other families.”

Aaron