With Remembrance Day in the rear view, the holidays will now be the focus and Nanaimo’s Salvation Army is looking for volunteers for its Christmas kettle campaign.
The fundraising efforts kicked off Wednesday and will continue until Dec. 24.
Dawne Anderson, Salvation Army Nanaimo fundraising and promotions coordinator, estimated there were fewer than 100 volunteers signed up as of last Thursday, and there will be 28 kettle stations from Ladysmith to Lantzville.
Shifts are indoors and outdoors and generally range from two-and-a-half to three hours.
There were 1,000 volunteers assisting last year, Anderson said, and $219,000 was raised in last year’s drive.
“My target (for 2016) is $215,000 ... and then we have our mail campaign of people mailing in their donations and that’s at $200,000. So the target for the whole season for us is $415,000,” said Anderson.
Monies will go to support Salvation Army’s services.
“The money goes towards helping our Christmas campaign with the hampers,” Anderson said. “We have our meal program that serves lunch and dinner, which is about 80,000 meals a year, and the emergency shelter and we have emergency hampers given out [and] the thrift stores and our furniture and clothing.
“And then we have the New Hope Centre side of things, where we have services for the community.”
For more information, please contact Anderson at 250-740-1004.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com