Waltham Salvation Army will "ring with bling" this holiday season thanks to bedazzled red kettle
BOSTON – A local designer is teaming up with the Salvation Army to add some bling to this year's holiday campaign.
"You could have the simplest little black outfit and you put on a little bling and it makes the whole thing," said Sondra Celli, owner of Sondra Celli Company.
As the saying goes, "the bling is the thing." And now, the Waltham Salvation Army has a chance to ring with bling.
"As the kettle came out, I just was in awe of the shininess and just what it means," said Nicole Fullop, Salvation Army lieutenant. "To know that we were cared for that much and someone would take the time to make a kettle like this, so we could help the Salvation Army."
So how did this all come together? Celli, a popular designer, took a call from the Salvation Army.
"They asked if there was something that we could do to make the kettle pop and we said, we could completely cover it in crystal," Celli said.
And from there they were in the business of making that kettle and bell sparkle.
"We have 47,000 stones or more. We kind of stopped counting at 47,000 but it's roughly about that. And hours and hours of labor and honestly, all these girls chipped in and took some time to do it," Celli said.
The hard work was appreciated by everyone at the Salvation Army.
"For someone to see something like this, they are going to look at it and say wow, they really went the extra mile to be able to help all those in the communities that have a need," Fullop said.
Celli hopes the design, which includes Austrian crystal, will help encourage people to donate.
"Every crystal has a lot of facets and that's why when the light hits it or in the sunrise, it goes crazy and that's what we want to do. Go crazy and give money to the Salvation Army this year," Celli said.