An army of volunteers will ring the bells and guard the kettles over the next two months as the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Campaign gets underway.
The Red Deer Salvation Army has a goal of raising $230,000 this year. Last year, the campaign raised $246,146.47, surpassing their goal in 2016 of raising $220,000.
“The money stays here in Red Deer and it is used in our community ministries,” said Larry Bridger, Salvation Army Major. “It is used in the food bank we operate and provide assistance to about 70 families every month. We also have our weekend feeding program for the schools with 200 students.”
Other program that receive some of the money include helping people pay utility bills, providing clothing and beds and the senior’s lunch every Friday.
“Red Deer is always very supportive,” said Bridger. “We need a lot of volunteers because, if you’re doing 10 locations a day in two hour shifts, you need 40 volunteers per day.”
Volunteers are required to cover flexible two-hour shifts from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 10 locations across the city. They include Bower Place, Parkland Mall, both Wal-Marts, Superstore, Save-on Foods, the Deer Park Co-op, the south Red Deer Canadian Tire and Costco, for the last two weeks of the campaign.
“We would love to hear from people,” said Bridger. “If you can only do one or two hour shifts, that’s a help as well.
“Stand if you can, smile at people, greet people and thank them when they make a donation. Smiling is the key thing and wish them a Merry Christmas.”
To volunteer call the Salvation Army at 403-346-2251 or email kettles9@telus.net.
mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
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