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Cheboygan County Man Takes Fundraising Efforts To New Level

Every year, the Salvation Army raises money through their iconic Red Kettle campaign, with bell ringers stationed all over local communities.

But one Cheboygan County man is taking his fundraising efforts to a new level and turning the signature red kettle into his temporary home.

9&10’s Adora Namigadde has more on Greg Bock and his 10k red kettle stay.

“When I leave here I’m going home to a warm house with a wife and three kids that I love and love me,” says Senior Soldier, Greg Bock. “And there’s people who don’t have that, who aren’t gonna have that experience.”

Greg Bock wants a taste of what the people he’s trying to help go through every day.

So he decided to go beyond your typical, traditional bell-ringing.

“I had the bright idea to get the kettle, which is shared among the Salvation Army in Northern Michigan and to live in it, go live in it for however long it took to raise $10,000,” says Bock.

He started on Saturday the third and since then, has called the eight-foot kettle on Main Street home.

He’s not leaving until he raises every penny and he says he’s getting plenty of support.           

“I was thinking I’d be scrounging for food, scrounging for things, calling my wife ‘hey I need a sandwich.’ I’m telling you I think I’ve had more cups of hot chocolate in the last four days than I ever drank in my entire life,” adds Bock.

As you can imagine, it’s pretty cold up here. Now Greg is keeping warm with a space heater and this heat lamp. But he says despite the inconvenience this is nothing compared to what some people are actually going through.

“I’m learning perseverance,” says Bock. “I’m also learning there are people out there that don’t even have a red kettle to sleep in.”

Meri Hebert lives in the area and says Greg has already taught her a few things.

“I never realized until I saw some of the stuff he said about how the money stays in town and how many programs they help out,” say Meri Hebert. “I always thought of the kettle as Christmas time stuff.”

He set out wanting to do something to help others, but it’s an experience that’s certainly changing him.

“That’s gonna translate into someone living in their car having a night in a hotel through Salvation Army,” says Bock.

Bock says Wednesday night a man came up to him asked him how much more money he needed to reach his $10,000 goal and wrote a check for the rest.

Bock is now home with his family.

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