Volunteer Serves the Army for More Than 65 Years

You wouldn’t expect anyone to stand out in the cold each winter to help people in need. But, that’s exactly what Bill Oliver has done for more than six decades with a smile on his face.

The 76-year-old has volunteered for The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Campaign every year but one since he was nine-years-old back in 1939. Oliver missed one year after suffering from a heart problem. That’s 66 years of volunteering. “I do it because everyone deserves a  Christmas and I have to do my part,” said the spritely Oliver.

Since Oliver’s heart problem, he’s had to slow down because he can’t breathe as well outside. He still volunteers five hours each day for six days a week inside a shopping mall with the Christmas kettle.

Oliver no longer brings along his portable stereo to play Christmas carols since there’s music playing in the malls, but he still gives out candy canes to each child who passes by. “The secret is to keep smiling,” says Oliver. “And I’m going to volunteer until the day I die.”