Alvina's Salvation

After nearly 2-decades volunteering at the Salvation Army's Christmas Bureau, Alvina Dixon of Syracuse decided to try something different with the organization. A friend recommended she give being a "Bell Ringer" a shot.

For sometimes more than 10-hours a day, Ms. Dixon braves the cold air outside the doors of K-Mart in Liverpool collecting donations in one of those famous red kettles. She says she does it to give back for the times she's needed a bit of help herself.

"There's really nice people that come,"Alvina says. "Then sometimes people don't say nothing to you, you know? But I just say, 'God bless you', anyway and,'Merry Christmas', and keep on smiling."

Ms. Dixon is currently looking for an apartment and furniture, but is happy to talk about her perseverance over drug addiction.

"It's hard, I have a family History of it", she explains. "And by the grace of God, my brother's clean, I'm clean and my sister's clean."

She says she's been sober for 6-years now.

So now, even with struggles of finding a home still in front of her, Alvina has decided to give back this December, standing at the front door of a K-Mart, ringing a bell and collecting donations for people she doesn't even know.