Thanksgiving has passed, but the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign organizers hope that the continuing holiday season will be blessed with the joy of giving.

Capt. David Means of the Bradford Salvation Army said Red Kettle volunteers started ringing their bells at various sites on Nov. 16. This was in response to last year’s Red Kettle Campaign, which saw difficulties reaching the donation goal.

“We were fortunate to have received a large donation from a former local,” Means said. “He donated $50,000 himself. We met our donation goal with him alone.”

Means said that “miracles” like that don’t occur often, so the Salvation Army decided to push the start date of the campaign back to a week before Thanksgiving.

Today, Means said he hopes to see a big increase in donations with it being Giving Tuesday, a day of donation recognized nationally on the Tuesday after Black Friday.

“It’ll be going on the entire 24 hours of the day,” Means said of Giving Tuesday. “Folks will be hearing it on the radios and seeing flyers about it all over town.”

So far, the campaign has made close to 10 percent of the $40,000 donation goal. Means said this is the largest fundraiser because of the time of the year.

“It’s not just a local campaign, it’s a national campaign,” Means said, “which makes it much more popular than other campaigns we have.”

Donations to the Red Kettle Campaign go toward many of the assistance programs that the Salvation Army offers, including a food pantry, a used-clothing closet and a yearly summer camp for children.

As part of the campaign, more than 25,000 Salvation Army volunteers throughout the country ring bells and solicit donations to the red kettles. All of the money donated to the local Salvation Army stays within the local community, according to Means.

“The proceeds from the campaign fund the Salvation Army’s programs, not just during the holidays, but in all year,” Means said. “Anyone who would like to volunteer, I encourage you to come ring the bell for a great local cause.”

The Red Kettles will be located At Tops Market, Walmart, Big Lots and Save-a-lot in Bradford. Other local businesses will be accepting donations as well through donation containers that will be located near checkout areas.

Volunteers will be ringing bells at all four stores from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Red Kettle campaign will run through Dec. 23.