By Regina Dennis

Tribune-Herald staff writer

If the cold winds whipping through Waco bothered Lucious Josey, it didn’t show through his cheery demeanor.

The 60-year-old was posted in front of the Bellmead Sam’s Club, ringing a golden bell and warmly greeting shoppers as they passed through the store’s doors. He occasionally shuffled from side to side, shifting weight from his left knee, injured in a grenade explosion when he served in the Army in Vietnam. He temporarily relinquished his bell to a small child, who perked at the sound of the clanging brass.

“Hello there. You ready to help me out?” he said to the boy, smiling and laughing. “Well, come on and ring my bell! I need some help today!”

Salvation Army Bell Ringer Lucious Josey waves to shoppers at Sam's Club in Bellmead as Sara Trevino and her daughter Gabriella, 2, prepare to put money in the kettle. (DUANE A LAVERTY photo)

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Salvation Army Bell Ringer Lucious Josey smiles as Christie Coockrell of Gatesville puts money into a kettle at Sam's Club in Bellmead. (DUANE A LAVERTY photo)

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Join the celebration

The Salvation Army will host its annual Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at 1225 S. Jack Kultgen Expressway. The meal, which will include turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings, is open to anyone in need of a meal or anyone alone for the holidays and looking for some company. Volunteers also are needed to help set up, serve and clean.
For more information, call 756-7271 or visit salvationarmywaco.org.

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Campaign continues

The kettle campaign lasts until Dec. 24. Bell ringers will be stationed at 19 storefronts in the Waco area, including Wal-Mart and Walgreens stores and Richland Mall. The fund raising goal for the campaign is $161,000. The donations will fund the Salvation Army's social-service program, which includes providing food, clothing and assistance with rent and utilities to needy families. The Salvation Army also buys Christmas presents for veterans and senior s. Last year, the Salvation Army used a portion of the donations raised in the kettle campaign to purchase gift sets of toiletries for 22,000 residents in area nursing homes and patients at the Waco Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

Josey, a self-proclaimed “natural charmer,” is assisting with the Salvation Army’s holiday red-kettle campaign, an annual collection drive to benefit needy families, veterans and senior adults over the holiday season and into next year.

“All angels are not in heaven,” Josey said, smiling and thanking one shopper who dropped change in the kettle. “There’s still angels here on Earth, ’cause I see it every day, in acts of kindness and godliness and goodness.”

But beneath the friendly demeanor lies a man whose endured his fair share of trouble. The San Felipe native has battled homelessness for much of the past year, spending nights at the Salvation Army, Brother’s Keeper men’s homeless shelter or temporarily crashing at a friend’s home. Josey traveled from Houston, where he has some family, to Temple, then Waco, seeking medical treatment for his knee from the Veteran Affairs hospital system.

He dons clothing from the Salvation Army — a short green winter jacket, blue sweatshirt and plush black gloves — to protect him from the wintry chill. Josey lives on a fixed income of disability payments, which he said does not afford him a “safe and healthy environment to live in.” He has no family in the area to turn to for support.

“It’s a sad time for me,” Josey said, the cheer in his eyes fading slightly. “I miss the closeness of a family, the bonding of a family, the rejoicing . . . the memories of certain things. I remember my mother’s duck dressing, certain smells. It’s a time of sadness and loneliness.”

While the Salvation Army relies on the volunteer efforts of 117 area community-service organizations for the kettle campaign, the nonprofit group also hires more than 20 temporary workers for the drive. The paid workers often are homeless or economically disadvantaged people who have received assistance from the Salvation Army and other social programs in the city.

‘A good opportunity’

“It’s a good opportunity for them to create some type of work history and also to generate income to pay for housing or other living expenses,” said Russell Czajkowski, captain and church minister for the Waco Salvation Army. “This way, we’re not just paying their rent or mortgage or electric bill, but they’re actually able to work for it.”

Calvin Alexander, 33, began working for the kettle campaign after a stint doing part-time work at Baylor University. Alexander was released from prison six months ago after serving eight years for violating parole on a previous robbery conviction. He plans to turn his life around after what he calls mistakes in his youth.

“That was a big lesson for me, and when I got out I wanted to do something positive with my life,” Alexander said. “That was just wasted years to me.”

Like Josey, Alexander also has been on the receiving end of Salvation Army services. The Waco native said his family endured particularly rough financial times when he was a child, and his parents struggled to care for him and his two siblings.

“My mom and dad didn’t have much,” Alexander said. “We lived in my grandmother’s house with all of my cousins, and my grandmother, she raised us. So she would turn to the Salvation Army for clothes, food, to try and take care of us.”

Alexander said he is grateful to be able to help with the kettle campaign because it gives him a chance to raise money for people who have shared similar struggles. Despite the dire economic times, people still are finding the generosity to give to the charity, he said.

“Some people come here two or three times a week, every day, and they’ll give every time,” Alexander said, shifting from side to side to fight the cold and tiredness in his toes as he manned a kettle at Wal-Mart last Saturday. “I had one person tell me this morning, ‘I really don’t have the money to give, but I know there are people who are in worse situations than me.’ So people are still giving, even if it’s just a little.”

Charity really helps

Waco resident Tammy Hooks said the Salvation Army’s track record of helping those who most need assistance is reason enough to give.

“They’ve done a lot for so many people,” said Hooks, 50. “I know they were really active earlier in the year, providing assistance to people who were affected by Hurricane Ike, and I thought it would just be good to donate to the campaign so that they can do more for people.”

Mike Gladwin, 53, said he tries to put something in the kettle as often as he can.

“I know there are some really needy people right now,” he said after dropping money in Alexander’s kettle. “I’m very grateful that I have a job and I can pay my bills, but that’s not the case for everyone.”

Czajkowski said that although rising costs of food and utilities leave people with less extra money to give away, he is hopeful that the Salvation Army can meet its goal if enough people pitch in just a little.

As Josey puts it, “If everybody puts a little something on the table, we’ll have a buffet.”

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755