News : ANOTHER GOLD COIN FOR THE RED KETTLE; DONATION IS WORTH A LITTLE MORE THAN $1,20

Most people who stop by the Salvation Army Red Kettle at local stores, including Fareway, leave a few coins or maybe some dollar bills. Those little donations from countless people add up to thousands of dollars each giving season, to help area families with things they need to help them get back on their feet. However, there’s one notable exception to most Red Kettle donors: Every year for the past five years of the Salvation Army bell ringing, someone has surreptitiously slipped a 1-ounce gold American Eagle coin into the red kettle at Fareway. And although there has always been at least one Salvation Army volunteer standing right there, the donor has gone undetected and unidentified each year. The donor writes the word “Gold” across the coin so those who count the donations know its value. Lanetter Parker says the coin brought a little more than $1,200. A gold coin contains 31.104 grams of gold; the American Eagle coin is worth about one ounce of gold at current prices, and has a face value of $50. All donations to the Red Kettles go to the Benton County Salvation Army; all proceeds help Benton County families.