Houston area's first gold coin boosts fundraising, morale HOUSTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The first gold coin dropped into a Houston-area Salvation Army kettle this season has been a morale booster in a slow year, officials said. Juan Alanis, spokesman for the Salvation Army in the Houston area, said anonymous donors have been dropping gold coins into the collection kettles for years and the first coin of the year was found in a bottle Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. "Even though it is a significant monetary donation, it's so much more significant in the motivation it gives our kettle workers," said Juan Alanis, Salvation Army spokesman for the Houston area. It lets them know that what they're doing is for a purpose and people actually believe in what they're doing out there every day. Alanis said the coin, which was wrapped in a dollar bill with a note reading "A child is born, Jesus," came amid a slow start to the season.