Salvation Army bell-ringer has a sound plan: Support anti-drug effort in community
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BATON ROUGE — It’s been another productive year for Doug Slaven in his effort to stamp out addiction.
Slaven rings the bell for the Salvation Army at the Walmart on College Drive to support the organization’s drug-and-alcohol program.
"I love helping others, and that's just where I feel like in my heart, God wants me to do,” Slaven said.
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While he doesn’t actually keep track of the money collected, he estimates he brings in about $300 daily for the charity. That the Salvation Army has a unit dedicated to fighting addiction is a blessing, he said.
“I actually had a cousin that died of fentanyl poisoning,” he said.
Slaven, a retiree, has been a bell-ringer for nine years.
"To me, it's not the money as much as letting people know that the Salvation Army is out here doing our thing, working with others,” he said.