Become a Mobile Bell Ringer and Use Your Cell Phone to Help The Salvation Army Fundraise This Holiday Season

HAMPTON ROADS, Va., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Salvation Army Tidewater Area Command today announced that it will launch a Mobile Bell Ringer campaign. The campaign is the first of its kind, and will run through December 24, 2010. It is designed to introduce a mobile component into The Salvation Army's traditional Red Kettle Christmas campaign. All proceeds raised from the Mobile Bell Ringer campaign will benefit local families in need in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Accomac and Northampton counties.

Becoming a Mobile Bell Ringer is easy. Interested participants can simply text BELL to 50555 to get information about registering. A link will be sent to the participant's phone where they can register, download a Mobile Bell Ringer ring tone, collect donations, track donations collected, and compare their progress against the progress of other Mobile Bell Ringers.

Once registered, each participant will be encouraged to set a donation goal, and utilize their networks to collect $10 mobile donations to reach that goal. To collect a donation, a participant simply enters the donor's mobile number into their mobile webpage, triggering a donation request that gets sent to the donor's mobile device via text message. The donor will be asked to confirm the $10 donation to The Salvation Army. All proceeds raised from this campaign will help provide food, clothing, shelter and toys to local families in need.

"We are excited to introduce a mobile component to our Red Kettle Christmas campaign," said Major Lewis Reckline of The Salvation Army. "This innovative mobile solution empowers our supporters to take action by collecting donations on behalf of our organization using this new peer-to-peer fundraising tool. This campaign enables our supporters to easily participate and encourage their friends and families to help make a difference in the lives of others this holiday season. Our goal is for each supporter to pledge to find 10 people to make a $10 mobile donation this holiday season and I hope you will join me in becoming a first year Mobile Bell Ringer."

The innovative Mobile Bell Ringer campaign is powered by mGive, the leading service provider for mobile donations in the United States. "This exciting campaign encourages individuals to take part in a traditional holiday campaign utilizing the mobile device as a new avenue for engagement, communication, and donation collection – and you can ring the bell from anywhere," said Brian Leamy, executive vice president of mGive.

To register to become a first year Mobile Bell Ringer, or to learn more about the campaign, please visit http://m.mgive.com/mbr.

About mGive

mGive is changing the way people give. Established in 2005, mGive created the United States mobile donation market by introducing the first mobile donation platform tailored to nonprofit organizations. Today, more than 85 percent of domestic mobile donations are powered by mGive who serves more than 500 leading nonprofit organizations and has launched over 7,000 mobile campaigns. The mGive platform offers scalable, enterprise-level solutions using text messaging for donor engagement and fundraising. For more information please call 866.720.3350 or visit www.mGive.com.

About The Salvation Army Tidewater Area Command

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 87 cents of every dollar is used to carry out those services in 5,000 communities nationwide.  Visit salarmyhr.org for more information.

SOURCE The Salvation Army Tidewater Area Command