Salvation Army bell ringer sings while he rings in Westborough

WESTBOROUGH - Keith Bryant Sr. doesn't need to go door to door for his holiday caroling. His audience comes to him.

The Worcester resident mans the Salvation Army donation kettle outside the Westborough Roche Bros. Supermarket, accompanying his bell ringing with vocal performances of holiday classics, bearing a microphone and backup music.

"It's a way to help people indulge in the feeling of true Christmas and keep believing in the holidays," said Bryant.

In the almost 20 years since he took up the spot, Bryant has become something of a holiday fixture in his own right for local shoppers.

"Every time I get out of the car and see him, he makes me smile," said Janice Ayres of Westborough. Being serenaded by Bryant upon arriving for holiday shopping is a local tradition, she said.

Bryant has been singing since he was a child, and the Salvation Army has been a part of his life for almost as long, with a belief in service past down from his mother, who also volunteered with the organization.

"I remember every time she'd come home from (volunteering) and tell us 'Whenever you see those red kettles, you put something in it,'" recalled Bryant.

His unique brand of bell ringing has allowed him to combine the two aspects of his life — to harmonious effect for both established and new residents to the area. Brenda Harshem and her family just moved to Hopkinton one town over, so this was their first time seeing Bryant's storefront performance. "I loved his voice," said Harshem as she dropped a donation in the kettle. She had never seen a singing bell ringer before.

"I guess there’s something that catches them about the way I sing," said Bryant. "I do oldies but goodies." His favorite one to sing is "Run, Rudolph, Run" by Chuck Berry.

Bryant's unique skills are needed more than ever this year. Maj. Paul Pelletier of the Salvation Army Worcester Outpost said that the organizations food banks have seen a 32% increase in families coming for help.

"We noticed a few months back that a lot more people were coming to the food banks and shelters," said Pelletier. Compounding this, he said the organization is "behind where we were at this time last year by about $8,000."

Click here to donate to the Salvation Army Citadel Corps Community Center.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Salvation Army bell ringer signs while he rings in Westborough