Bellringer’s work helps her heal

WENATCHEE – Three parking rows and 30 cars away from the entrance to Wal-Mart, you can hear a faint tinkle-tinkle as the Ding-A-Ling Lady tolls her tidings.

Ten cars away, you can hear heartfelt laughter and exuberant chatter as Bobbie Hughes, the Ding-A-Ling Lady herself, delivers the warm greetings and thank-yous that make her one of the Salvation Army’s top bellringers this holiday season.

It’s only up close that you sense something’s off – a sadness in the eyes? a hurt that won’t quit? – and realize there’s more to this bellringer than smiles, Christmas wishes and Salvation Army kettles filled to the brim with donations.

Eight hours a day, six days a week, first-year bellringer Hughes has jingled for a month at Wal-Mart to help the Salvation Army meet this season’s fundraising goal of $88,000. Officials say she’s so good at it that they’ve supplied her with a “super-sized” kettle – one of only three in Wenatchee – because she fills up the regular-size kettles too quickly.

“For me,” said the 46-year-old Hughes, “this bellringing job is a healing experience. It’s a way for me to connect with people and return the blessings that so many people have given me. It’s a way of paying forward all the good I’ve experienced – after all that’s happened.”

Just over a year ago, Hughes had a heart attack in her sleep that’s left one side of her body affected by swelling and weakness. The condition has robbed her of a regular job and slowed her in daily activities that she once took for granted. “Cleaning the house, going for walks – they’re a little bit more of a struggle.”

Then Kenneth, her husband of 13 years, died in February, leaving her with three children and no steady income.

“I applied for jobs with no luck,” said Hughes. “I didn’t know where to turn or who to talk to. I was slipping down lower and lower.”

The Salvation Army saved her, she said. “They gave me a chance. They gave me a job. They gave me an opportunity (as bellringer) to do something special – help raise money for those who need help.”

The local bellringer program has 16 sites in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee that are staffed by nearly 250 volunteers and 14 paid workers, including Hughes.

Lt. Sergio Garcia, director of the Wenatchee Salvation Army, said Hughes’ warmth and sincerity came across immediately in interviews. So he gave her a bell and a kettle and put her to work.

Since then, “the comments and compliments about Bobbie have not stopped,” Garcia said. “She treats people – complete strangers – as if they’re family, and they respond with incredible generosity. She brings that out in nearly everyone that passes by.”

Garcia smiles. “I’m not kidding. I’ve found her in personal conversations with people that I assumed were her long-lost cousins. I figured at any minute she’d turn and introduce me to her Cousin Sally or Uncle Jim. But she had just met them a minute earlier and was chatting while they dug out a donation. Isn’t that amazing?”

Her easy way with strangers comes naturally, Hughes said. “My whole life, I’ve loved talking and being with people, and bellringing’s no different.”

That makes the work flow smoothly, she said. “I smile, I make eye contact, I ask them how they’re doing. Then I simply let them know that their donation is appreciated, that we’re thankful they gave something to help – anything, no matter how small.”

The bellringer’s job ends with the Christmas season, Hughes noted. But the personal boost provided by the Salvation Army has inspired her to make changes in her life.

She has plans in 2012 to attend Wenatchee Valley College and become a medical receptionist or assistant.

And that nickname? The Ding-A-Ling Lady?

Hughes laughs. “The Wal-Mart employees call me that because that’s what I’m doing all day long – ringing my bell, accepting donations, and sharing the blessings I’ve received.”