South students who attend the Salvation Army church contribute to the community in a unique way during the holiday season: kettling.

According to freshman Jimmy Jang, kettling is where people stand outside a local storefront, asking for donations while playing christmas carols with brass instruments.

“[The church] earns money, so we donate it to charity and buy toys to give to kids for the holidays who can’t usually afford [them],” Jang said.

Charles You, freshman euphonium player, said that the church asks the kettlers to play their own musical instrument to bring variety to their fundraising.

Sam Park, junior tuba player in the band, notes that while some people are willing to give a few cents to the charity, not everyone will donate.

“There usually are generous people who donate, but I think you’re expected to be nice with [people] and be patient with them as well,” Park said.

Park prefers participating in kettling because of the personal touch it gives to the audience.

“[Kettling with the band] provides a feeling that you are potentially brightening up someone’s day rather than ringing a bell for an hour, hoping you might not go crazy after hearing that sound over and over again,” Park said.

However, Park acknowledges some downsides to kettling as it occurs in the winter months.

“The kettling season starts the week before Thanksgiving and lasts the whole holiday season,” Park said. “You might pick to go outside on a day when it is below zero degrees.”

You reflected on other benefits of kettling for his church.

“It’s pretty fun just standing outside a store and playing music, and when we aren’t playing instruments, [my friends and I] can go back into the store and eat around and do whatever we want,” You said.

According to You, kettling inspires him to participate in other fundraisers for the community.

“Kettling is just one of the many service projects our church does to help the less fortunate, and all of these projects have really opened my eyes to how fortunate [I] am, and I guess just realizing that made me want to help [the community] more,” You said. “…That’s really what these projects, like kettling, have done for me”.