Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries has reversed its decision to ban Salvation Army volunteers with Christmas kettles from Liquor Mart locations across Manitoba.
The reversal – which is reportedly a temporary decision for this year only – comes on the heels of the Salvation Army’s announcement of a lower-than-average collection in the 2018 holiday season.
“The Salvation Army informed us this week that they were not seeing positive results for their Christmas kettle campaign and were struggling to meet their financial goals,” said Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries in a statement Friday afternoon.
“As a result, a decision was made to reinstate the volunteer-staffed kettles in participating Liquor Marts for this year.
“We will meet with the Salvation Army in the new year to look for new opportunities to help support their fundraising initiatives.”
In 2017, the Salvation Army raised $35,000 through their kettle program at liquor stores alone. This year, Major Rob Kerr of the Salvation Army said they’ve raised just $500 at those stores.
As of Thursday, they’ve raised a grand total of $197,000 for their Christmas Kettle Campaign, well short of their $370,000 goal in Winnipeg. The campaign runs until December 24.
Kerr said the Liquor and Lotteries reversal is “great news”, and he hopes this will be a turning point.
‘We have a long way to go in a short period of time,” Kerr said.
“We’re optimistic, but it’s going to take a lot of generosity from Winnipeggers.”
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