The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign draws to a close on Wednesday, but the charity is still looking for volunteers.
As of Tuesday morning, the campaign has brought in $161,621, shy of their $225,000 goal. Maj. Bruce MacKenzie said that a major factor in this shortage is a lack of volunteers to man the kettles.
“There’s a lot of empty shifts. Having said that we have some fantastic volunteers that have doubled and tripled and taken many, many shifts over the month of December to help out because they want to make a difference,” MacKenzie explained.
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The Salvation Army has 19 shifts that need to be filled. The campaign ends at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
One of the programs funded by kettle donations is the Christmas Hamper program. These hampers help the less fortunate provide gifts for their families.
Mac Kenzie said they have distributed more hampers this year than they ever have in Regina. Last year about 1,200 hampers were given away and this year over 1,600 have been.
“One of the really amazing or troubling things we’re seeing is that almost half of the people that are receiving a hamper this year are actually working,” said Mac Kenzie.
All of the people who apply for hampers go through an interview process where the need for help is confirmed by The Salvation Army.
“They simply don’t have enough money to make ends meet over the Christmas season.”
People interested in volunteering can call 306-530-0572.
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