Urgent appeal for Salvation Army bell ringers in West Kelowna

The season of giving is alive and well at the Smith Creek Village Retirement Home in West Kelowna thanks to one of its residents.

For the past three Christmas seasons, Peter Schebel has been ringing the Salvation Army kettle bells in the lobby of the facility.

“Everyday, except Sunday,” said Schebel.

Despite being nearly 90 years old and wheelchair bound due to losing both legs to clogged arteries, there’s nothing stopping him from giving back.

“Why not not help some little child have a Christmas gift, you know, ” he said. “I love doing that.”

Schebel’s dedication is inspiring many around him…including the facility’s chaplain.

“If he can do it, anybody can do it,” said Kristen Corrigan, the chaplain at Smith Creek Village.

Kettles aren’t typically stationed at long-term care facilities but Schebel insisted and it’s been a huge success.

“This is our second kettle, the first one was too full, it had to leave,” said Corrigan.

The facility has a steady stream, of visitors, many who are compelled to give when they see the effort the senior is putting in to make sure no one goes without during the holidays.

“We have visitors coming in all the time because we have over 200 residents here so they’ve got family coming in and why not give it here,” said Corrigan.

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The Salvation Army is touched by Schebel’s determination to help.

“Peter is such an inspiration, ” said Jennifer Henson with the West Kelowna Salvation Army. “He really blesses my heart just to know that he finds the way he can give back and he gives back and he does it with such passion…it’s very heartwarming.”

The help is desperately needed as the organization deals with a dwindling volunteer base.

“A lot of our senior volunteers are sort of aging out of being able to volunteer just for different reasons. They’re not able to anymore,” Henson said. “Then we’ve had some younger volunteers who can’t do it anymore because they’re working two jobs now. So when they would have been volunteering on the evenings or weekends, they’re actually working their second job just to make ends meet.”

The West Kelowna Salvation Army is seeing on average six to seven kettle shifts unfilled every day right now when it’s normally between two and three.

Henson said the unfilled shifts have a huge impact on the organization’s efforts to help those in need.

“It’s usually about $150 for every two-hour shift on average that we would normally collect if somebody was there,” Henson said. “And so that $150 is about the equivalent of helping a family of three for a month — just thinking ahead of all the families that might be impacted by this.”

This year’s red kettle campaign goal is $225,000 but so far only about $67,000 has been raised.

Henson is appealing to anyone who can donate two hours of their time to call the West Kelowna Salvation Army and schedule a shift.

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