Key Club members can earn group hours in the next few weeks by ringing bells for the Salvation Army or ushering at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center’s performance of The Nutcracker.

Bell-ringing attracts donations for the Salvation Army, which provides many services for the needy, including shelter, food and job training, according to club co-sponsor Katie Gray. Students have the weekends of Nov. 27 and Dec. 4 left if they wish to participate, she said.

As with all events, according to Gray, club members should sign up at the Key Club office in Room E242. If they cannot make it to the bell-ringing shift they signed up for, she said, they should inform a club officer at least three days before their shift. But if at all possible, they should commit to what they have signed up for.

“Just bundle up, and show up with a smiling face, that’s your donation (even though you’re not directly giving money to the Salvation Army),” Gray said.

Haley Anderson, club member and junior, did just that on Nov. 20, from noon to 1 p.m., outside O’Malia’s grocery store on 126^th Street, according to her. She and her fellow club members received many donations, she said, because they looked cheerful and waved at everybody who passed by.

“It wasn’t too (chilly), because I wore under-armor and a coat and gloves and a hat,” Anderson said. “I’m almost to the suggested (20) hours (of community service) for this semester, and bell-ringing was worth group hours, which is what I need.”

Club members can also earn group hours by acting as ushers at The Nutcracker performance in Zionsville on Dec. 10, 11 and 12, according to Gray, or by wrapping Christmas gifts at Ann Taylor Loft in Clay Terrace on the weekends of Dec. 4 and 11.

“This is a time of year when you’re spending a lot of money (on Christmas shopping), but you should also remember to give back to others this (Christmas) season,” Gray said. By Thalib Razi <[email protected]>