A rubber band may not seem like the most festive of objects. But for Cheryl Lee Lindmeier, it is a fundamental component in spreading Christmas cheer this holiday season.

About four days a week, Lindmeier bundles up against the biting South Coast winds and takes up her station at the entrance to a local store. Entwining her fingers and the black handle of a silver bell is a rubber band. Rather than clenching the bell, Lindmeier simply shakes her hand. This she does for hours on end, producing sweet peals of sound along with heartfelt season’s greetings.

Lindmeier is one of about 20 bell ringers employed by the Salvation Army to encourage donations into the trademark Christmas kettles. The Charleston woman knows she could probably find work in a warmer setting, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I can work in the mall for the same amount of money, but I can’t get the same joy,” she said.

She first took up ringing a bell four years ago while she was living in Portland. She was going through a difficult period in her life, and the job provided a pleasant distraction.

“Being out in the open, getting to greet people, it helped me get through the holidays,” she said. “I discovered what a blessing it is.”

A native of Coos County, Lindmeier returned to the South Coast shortly after that first bell-ringing experience. During the rest of the year, she keeps herself busy making jewelry and designing natural weavings, some of which will be on display at South Slough National Research Reserve starting next month. But when the holidays roll around, she contacts the local Salvation Army office.

Salvation Army Major Cliff Jones supervises the local group’s bell ringers. They continue a tradition started in 1891, when a San Francisco-based Salvation Army captain decided to host a free Christmas dinner for that area’s poor. The first kettle was placed at the foot of the city’s marketplace, where ferries from Oakland would discharge their occupants. Since then, the idea has spread throughout the United States and around the world.

In Coos Bay and North Bend, there are 12 kettle stations, though not every one is put out on a given day. On a weekday at the beginning of December, only a handful might be set out, Jones said. But on busy shopping days, like the day after Thanksgiving, every kettle is out, with a bell ringer beside it.

This year, the kettles first made an appearance Saturday, Nov. 17. Lindmeier was on duty that day at the Fred Meyer in Coos Bay. She said several people stopped to ask why she was out ringing her bell so early.

“Well, the money we raise goes to help feed people. And hunger doesn’t have a holiday,” she said.

Bell ringers will be standing at store fronts in the Bay Area until Dec. 24, said Jones. At the end of the fundraising effort, he expects to collect about $20,000 to $25,000. In addition, local service groups will be raising money on their own to donate to the effort. On Saturday, Dec. 15, members of the various groups will man the kettles and ring the bells. Although the day is designed to further boost fundraising, it also serves as a competition between the groups. The past three years, members of Zonta, an international club dedicated to advancing the status of women, have brought in the most money.

“They know what’s going on,” Jones said.

Money raised in all facets of the kettle drive will go to the Salvation Army to pay for food and toy distribution, and emergency assistance during the winter months. It will be used to help those in the local area, Jones added.

But Lindmeier likes to think of the process as a two-way street for people who donate.

“Not only does it raise money for a good cause, but I get to help people with a little cheer,” she said. “It’s what you do with the people involved. When they see you are real and not just putting them on, they are very grateful.”

On Saturday, Lindmeier was stationed outside Wal-Mart in Coos Bay. As people walked by, she greeted them with a toothy smile, a “God bless you” for those who dropped some coins in her kettle and a “Merry Christmas” to those who provided a smile.

On a good day, a kettle can collect as much as $250, Jones said.  But Lindmeier does not base the success of a day on how much money was raised.

“I try to give the same kind of support no matter how much they give,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s two cents or $20. It might be their only two cents.”

The job is not without its downsides. Standing for long periods of times can be painful for Lindmeier, who is disabled. But she is able to take breaks on a chair stationed next to her kettle. And the cold chill of the wind can be tempered by the generosity of others. One time, on a particularly frigid day, Lindmeier was at her post when a woman walked past her into the store and came back out with a hot drink.

“That hot chocolate meant a lot,” Lindmeier said.

But the best moments are when she gets to tell a child about the value of giving. Shortly after 11 a.m., Alliah Gonzales, 4, passed by the kettle in a shopping cart. Not only did she make a donation, but she also learned who it would help.

“Do you like chicken soup” Lindmeier asked. “Because that is going to let someone fill their tummy up nice and warm. I think you should be proud of that.”

Alliah’s face broke into a big grin as she left.

“That says it all right there,” Lindmeier said.