With just nine days until Christmas, a couple of Red Deer organizations are hoping for more donations to cover their Adopt A Family programs.
Maj. Larry Bridger of the Salvation Army said Tuesday they had received 210 Adopt A Family applications for assistance. That’s up from 180 last year.
There are still 54 families they do not yet have sponsors for, Bridger said.
Of the 210 applications, 185 are families including 416 children and about 150 adults, and 25 are seniors. Many of the applications come from single-parent families.
Even though all the families do not have sponsors, “They will still get Christmas,” Bridger said. The church’s family services office will step in.
But if people still want to help, they would certainly welcome any other donations, he said.
The Salvation Army will spend the next few days preparing the gift packages, which will be delivered at the end of the week.
Bridger said their numbers are up this year because of the downturn in the economy. People have been laid off from their jobs and “they are hurting right now.”
The goal is to ensure that all families are able to celebrate Christmas with a holiday meal and gifts for their children, Bridger said.
“It is wonderful if a sponsor is able to adopt an entire family but if a full family adoption is not feasible for you or your group, you can still help,” he said.
“We can combine donations of food hampers, unwrapped gifts or gift cards for food or presents from multiple individuals and groups to contribute to adopting a family.”
The Salvation Army’s Christmas kettle program, which raises money for yearly community programs, is going well, he said.
They are on par with last year, which was a record year when they raised $218,000. Bridger said they are about $100,000 from this year’s $210,000 goal.
“The campaign is looking good, people have been generous,” he said. The kettles wrap up on Dec. 23.
Meanwhile at Central Alberta Women’s Outreach, they were quite busy Tuesday, the last day for applications for their Adopt A Family program.
Darcy Ouellet said Women’s Outreach had 198 families as of Tuesday, involving 416 children. This is similar to last year when they had 222 families sign up for the program.
There were still 10 families needing sponsors, Ouellet said, adding they are optimistic they will have enough sponsors.
The Salvation Army and Women’s Outreach work together so their Adopt A Family programs do not overlap.
To contact the Salvation Army call 403-346-2251 and to contact Women’s Outreach, call 403-347-2480.