The Salvation Army’s red kettle season is almost here and Maria Post of the Salvation Army’s Gloucester Service Center tells the Gazette-Journal volunteers are needed to lend a hand in the annual fundraising effort. Post says it’s not too early to make plans to ring with family, friends, with your church or even by yourself. The red kettle collections have been a part of the Christmas giving season for more than 130 years and enable the organization to help those who would otherwise be forgotten.