Major Randy Mulch, who coordinates efforts by The Salvation Army's Medford Corps, displays a classic red donation kettle and an accompanying "touchless giving" payment terminal, which will debut at the south Medford Fred Meyer Nov. 17 when bell-ringers kick off the holiday giving season.

From new Apple Pay terminals at signature red kettles to a special kickoff event featuring bell-ringing Disney princesses and a big boost from local businesses, The Salvation Army’s Medford Corps is pulling out all the fundraising stops this season of giving.

And with good reason, according to Major Randy Mulch, The Salvation Army’s Jackson County coordinator. He sees a spike in holiday need on Jackson County’s horizon and fewer than usual Christmas shopping days this season.

Shoppers with a lack of spare change in their pockets will now have a convenient way to help those less fortunate. As part of a new pilot project with “touchless giving” platform Tiptap, The Salvation Army bell-ringers in Medford and Jackson County will add new $5, $10 and $20 payment terminals that accept contactless electronic payments at many red kettle locations in front of stores this holiday season.

Local shoppers will be able to take Tiptap for a test drive — and maximize their donation doing so — at a special bell-ringing kickoff event happening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the south Medford Fred Meyer, 1301 Center Drive.

The event will feature “celebrity” bell-ringers such as Santa and at least one costumed Disney princess, plus entertainment throughout the day from organizations such as the Elegant Bustles and Bows historical costume group and Miss Diana’s School of Ballet. Free Harry & David truffles will also be given out while supplies last.

The big bonus, however, will be a match boosting the donations by a factor of 10 thanks to help from local businesses including Harry & David, U.S. Bank, Kelly’s Automotive and Hawaiian Hut, and members of The Salvation Army’s local advisory board.

According to Mulch, this year’s pilot program is ahead of what’s shaping up to be a series of uphill battles for the local charity. For starters, Mulch said that volunteer bell-ringers will have fewer days to collect this holiday season because Christmas falls on the fourth Monday of December this year.

“The way Christmas Eve falls, we have less days between Thanksgiving and Christmas to raise the funds, so we’re really trying to work hard at it,” Mulch said.

The more acute problem, according to Mulch, is a 70% increase in requests for holiday assistance in Jackson County compared to last year. For instance, the applications for The Salvation Army’s “Angel Tree” program — the program where shoppers grab a tag with a child’s holiday wish off special Christmas trees at Rogue Valley Mall and Walmart stores in Medford and Eagle Point — are “significantly increased” this year.

“We’ve had a lot more people apply earlier than ever,” Mulch said, adding that the application window is still open.

Families in need have through Sunday, Nov. 12, to submit their application for the Angel Tree program. For more information about the program, see saangeltree.org.

Angel Trees are expected to go up Nov. 18 at Walmart stores Eagle Point and in north and south Medford, and Nov. 24 at Rogue Valley Mall. Mulch asks locals to consider picking up one or two of the tags to meet their goal of helping 1,500 children in the Rogue Valley this year.

Mulch said that rising costs and inflation are bringing new people in need to The Salvation Army, some of whom asking for help for the first time.

“We’ve found that even beyond Christmas, just generally, that we have a lot more new clients who’ve never needed help before,” Mulch said.

Toward that end, Mulch is launching Tiptap terminals in Southern Oregon to accommodate the growing number of locals who no longer carry cash or change. The Canadian-based payment platform partners with a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp. to handle contactless Visa and MasterCard payments, as well as smartphone and smartwatch payments from Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

The Salvation Army chapters across Canada have been using Tiptap since the 2020 holiday season, and started expanding stateside two years ago with pilot programs in Southern California, Northern California and Spokane, Washington, according to The Salvation Army’s Caring Magazine.

More volunteer bell-ringers are still needed, Mulch said, adding that volunteers can ring for “part of a day if they’d like,” and he encourages church and community groups to consider “adopting” whole days of bell-ringing.

For more information, see jacksoncounty.salvationarmy.org or call 541-773-6965.