Herman Stevens, homeless for eight years, walked up to Salvation Army employees in Jonesboro, Arkansas as they were discussing their need for bell ringers this upcoming holiday season.

Stevens reached into his left coat pocket then pulled out a dollar bill. He crumbled it up and squeezed it into the red bucket.

“It’s usually the poor who are so willing to give,” says Captain Angela Sadler, Salvation Army corps officer in Jonesboro.

“I might be a homeless good boy, I’ve been here for a while,” Stevens said. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s for a good cause.”

He has stayed at The Salvation Army for a few months following his brother’s death and after taking on the battle against an aneurism.

He said he might be down on his luck but he insists on giving a portion of what little he has and doing so joyfully.

“I have the Lord on my side,” he said. “He told me to do this and tells me to give.”

Why does he give to the Army's Red Kettle Campaign when he had so little to donate?

“Because they give  me,” Stevens said of The Salvation Army. “They feed me, they give me a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. That’s a lot. That’s more than anyone else would do. I’ll help anyone I can when I can because someone helped me.”

He remains hopeful that the community will give this holiday season, to help others who walk in his same shoes.

Captain Sadler said a little goes a long way too.

“This helps us to house the homeless in our shelter, it goes to the food pantry where we give food out to people who need help, and it stays right here in our community,” she said.

Sadler said The Salvation Army is in need of bell ringers for their largest fundraising event of the year.

Captain Sadler said they need volunteers and there are also paid positions available.

Anyone interested in becoming a bell ringer in Jonesboro can contact the Salvation Army at 870-935-2082.