After 14 years on the job, a Salvation Army volunteer Bell ringer in Collier County is close to having collected 100 thousand dollars. Lynn Blakely rings and collects contributions in his red kettle outside the Publix supermarket on the corner of Airport Road and Vanderbilt Beach Boulevard in Naples. Chris Nind is the Army’s Development Director.

“he presently is 2,148 dollars short of that 100 thousand dollar target and knowing our campaign ends this Saturday it would be wonderful if he could reach that target before the end of the campaign.”

The overall goal for this year’s Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign in Collier County is 200 thousand dollars. Nind says he’s pretty sure it’s attainable. The annual campaign accounts for about 8 percent of Army’s overall income in Collier County. Nind credits the more than 200 volunteers for their hard work. And he says some of the volunteers match what they raise.