ROCHESTER, N.Y. — After being impacted by the pandemic, the Salvation Army says its Red Kettle campaign is back in full swing this year.

She likes to sing and dance, and every holiday season you can find Angela Ashford doing both while collecting donations for the Salvation Army.

“I help people, and I’m a people person, and I just love doing it,” Ashford said. “You can just imagine, I’m fun with people. I make their day.”

Except last year, when the pandemic kept her home for the first time in 20 years of volunteering.

“I missed it,” Ashford said. “I was bored. I was just lost without it.”

So Angela is excited to be back, volunteering six days a week.

“It feels so good to be out, because we were so locked down and cooped up,” Ashford said.

The donations she collects stay right here in the community, helping with shelter, emergency aid, food and clothing.

“We’re busy, all the time,” Salvation Army Finger Lakes coordinator Major Doug Burr said. “Yeah, the pandemic made things a lot different last year, but this year things are back to normal in that way.”

But the pandemic has also created more need.

“When we have issues like this, you know large things happen on a large scale like the pandemic, more people find themselves in need,” Burr said. “And they don’t know where to go, so they turn to the Salvation Army and we try to help them the best we can.”

And Ashley says this year, the donations haven’t slowed down.

“It feels good,” Ashley said. “They’re donating, people are giving, and we’re giving, and we’re helping, they’re helping.”

So she’ll keep singing and dancing,

“You’re not just out here ringing a bell,” Ashford said. “We’re helping the nation, we’re helping the city, year round.”