This time of year you see the red kettle and hear the bell. You want to help out and give a few bucks but many people these days don't carry cash.
That's why the Salvation Army is now taking plastic.
They've added a credit card machine to the kettle stand by the Christmas tree in Valley View Mall. Right now it's the only stand that accepts credit cards.
It has been slow because many people don't know about it. But the change is already paying off.
"We did get a thousand dollar donation which we wouldn't have got otherwise if not for the credit card machine," says Capt. Ken Argot with the Salvation Army in Roanoke.
The bell will be ringing until Christmas Eve. The Salvation Army is always looking for volunteers to ring the bell.
The Salvation Army's goal in Roanoke this year is $225,000. So far this season, people have donated $110,000.
The Salvation Army makes sure every child has a gift on Christmas day. But they need your help to do it and time is running out.
The two Angel Trees at Valley View Mall are full. There's even a stack of cards waiting to go on the tree.
Each 'angel' represents a boy or girl in this area whose family can't afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.
The Salvation Army asks people to help out by taking an angel off the tree, buying that child a gift and then bring it back to the tree.
"These are children who may get nothing and this makes the difference in being able to have a gift and it makes them feel special and that they're cared for.," says Suzanne Gandy, Executive Director of Development.
Gifts need to be returned by December 9 which is this Sunday.
Children whose names are still left on the tree will get gifts. The Salvation Army will use donations to buy gifts for its "forgotten angels".
Families applied in October and November. They had to show that they financially can't afford gifts for their children.
