When the bells are ringing, it is time to keep the pot boiling.

The tried and true method of dropping cash into a kettle will still be available, but this year the Salvation Army has added two new ways to donate to its Christmas Kettle Campaign.

“We started a text-to-donate program this year and you can donate to that by texting HOPE1016. It’s a minimum $5 donation, but you can do it as many times as you like,” said Amelia Norrie, spokesperson for Salvation Army Caring Place.

“Also, in partnership with London Drugs, [cashiers] are going to be collecting donations at their tills in every London Drugs location in the Lower Mainland, including the one in Maple Ridge.”

According to Norrie, the busiest kettle locations in the past were the 227th Street Save-On-Foods, London Drugs, and Zellers.

So far this year the Kettle Campaign has not had the volunteering response it usually has for the London Drugs location.

There are about 1,000 volunteer hours that need filling around Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

“Every kettle that is not manned is not earning money,” added Norrie.

The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign is a fundraising effort that happens every year during the Christmas season.

Kettles are found in 2,000 locations across Canada, 14 in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and are supported by people who donate whatever funds they can during the Christmas season and throughout the year.

The first time a kettle was used in Canada was in St. John’s, Nfld. in 1906.