#RedKettleReason #GivingSpreeSweeps The sound is as familiar as a favorite Christmas carol. The chime of the ringing bell asking shoppers and walkers-by to put a little something in the Red Kettle so The Salvation Army can help others during the holiday season! I love the sound and I always put a little in, smile at the jolly bell ringer and feel like I am helping in some small way. I know the generosity of strangers when you have nothing. As a young girl, before my adoption at 8, there were no presents for any reason unless they were handed over by people who were bringing donations to us. So anything I can do at all to help families and children who were in my shoes is very, very important to me! This year, however, you can have an even greater impact – just by sharing a #RedKettleReason on video describing why you give back to the Red Kettles during the holidays! That video could win you a trip to New York City to participate in a televised shopping spree (called a Salvation Army Giving Spree!) to grab toys and necessities for kids in need in your local community! The winner then gets to fly all those gifts back to their hometown to help distribute them.

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To enter for a chance to win The Salvation Army Giving Spree, share a video to Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Vimeo describing your #RedKettleReason, why your community deserves to win, and why you support The Salvation Army. Then, tweet a link that video with the hashtags #RedKettleReason and #GivingSpreeSweeps. Full rules and how to enter are available at redkettlereason.org

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, donations collected in the Red Kettle help feed the homeless, put roofs over their heads and provide gifts for children who simply don’t have any. We all know that. But did you also know that The Salvation Army helps with support and counseling for domestic violence victims, substance abuse issues, and military veterans who come back needing a helping hand? I did not know how wide reaching their services were and now that I do, I am even more motivated to do what I can!

This is the second year The Salvation Army has run the #RedKettleReason campaign and the first for the The Salvation Army Giving Spree contest. I, for one, can’t wait to see all the #RedKettleReason videos people share this year. What a wonderful way to remember the reason for the season! So, get your videos up on Twitter, donate to the Red Kettles you see and know that you are making a difference to people everywhere who need it!

What is your #RedKettleReason? Tell me for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!

Gift Card Entry Instructions:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/18/15 – 12/20/15.

Be sure to visit The Salvation Army brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!