Salvation Army kettle campaign ramping up

PENTICTON  – The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign is well underway in Penticton with kettles up around the city.

The campaign began almost two weeks ago and will kicking into high gear this coming weekend.

“We’re now at all our locations in Penticton, including the Penticton Liquor Store,” coordinator Hilma Labelle says.

Kettles have also been placed in Summerland and Osoyoos. More than 75 volunteers are currently helping out, but Labelle says they are always looking for more. Shifts run from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., in two hour blocks and volunteers can sign up for as many blocks as they like.

The fundraising goal this year is $80,000. 

“We’re doing very well. The public has been extraordinarily generous to this point, and we hope that will continue,” Labelle says.

It’s the Salvation Army’s biggest annual fundraiser, providing money for much of the organization’s programs and services. All the money raised stays in the community. Some of the programs funded include shelters, kitchen and garden programs, support for the elderly and the Christmas hampers.

This year the army has received requests for more than 700 hampers.

“The demographic has changed considerably from last year," Labelle says. "We’re seeing far more single applicants and far more folks who are in supported health facilities, people with mental illness or addiction issues."

She says they are encouraging groups to get involved in the kettle campaign.

“It’s lots of fun. I just finished a shift at the liquor store. People are so lovely and generous. They tell stories of how Salvation Army helped them through a difficult time in their lives, and I just love being out there and listening to the stories."

The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign runs until Christmas Eve.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.