ADRIAN — For the past three Christmas seasons, the Salvation Army in Adrian has sponsored a Painted Kettle Contest for students in each of Lenawee County’s school districts.
This year, students in all 11 Lenawee County public high schools submitted entries on the theme “Your Favorite Christmas Memory.”
The winning kettle was submitted by Morenci High School and painted by Rebecca Cox, who also won last year’s contest. Second and third place went to the entries from Adrian and Onsted.
The goal of the Painted Kettle Contest is to raise awareness of the Salvation Army and the work it does in the community, said Capt. Laura Lunnam.
“The biggest thing is making the schools out in our county know that the Salvation Army in Adrian represents all of Lenawee County,” Lunnam said. “By going out there, they know that the Salvation Army’s there for them.”
“Getting students and teenagers involved is important because they’re our future,” she added.
The red metal kettles used in the contest are no longer used for bell-ringing, having been replaced with larger, more efficient plastic kettles five or 10 years ago. They “were sitting around collecting dust,” Lunnam said.
Lunnam said she got the idea of using the metal kettles for a decorating contest from contests she had seen at other Salvation Army locations. She added that the Painted Kettle Contest brings an element of fun into the work the Salvation Army does.
“We do everything we can do to make it fun,” Lunnam said. “If you can’t do it fun, don’t do it. “
Some kettles in the contest featured only paint, while others also had glued-on cutouts. The kettle from Adrian High School featured lights that actually lit up.
“It’s interesting to see what they come up with,” Lunnam said.
One thing she noticed about the kettle designs this year is that they featured the activities that are associated with Christmas, not material goods.
“So many of them had things like making Christmas cookies,” Lunnam said. “I just want to encourage families to know that none of them had presents painted on there.”
“It’s a good reminder to the parents and the grandparents of the world that if you ask a bunch of teenagers ‘What’s your favorite memory?’ you don’t see the Xboxes and PlayStations drawn on there,” Lunnam continued. “It’s the time with people that they remember.”
