Salvation Army calls on generous Londoners as holiday donations, volunteer numbers wane
With less than two weeks to go before Christmas, the charity hopes to inspire Londoners to give
The Salvation Army in London is appealing to the generosity of locals with increased urgency this year, as almost halfway into December, its annual Christmas Kettle Campaign is on track to fall short.
On top of lagging fundraising, the charity says it has only about half of the volunteer shifts it needs to staff filled, all as the ongoing Canada Post strike contributes greatly to a loss of mail-in donations.
"Right now, we have about 10 days left in our campaign, and we are quite a long ways away from our goal," said Nancy Kerr, the Salvation Army London's director of community services.
The money that's raised in London stays in the city, and goes directly to services that help local families, said Kerr.
"It helps us run our Christmas assistance program that we're running right now. We're assisting about 3,000 or 3,500 families. We can, assist up to 6,000 children this year. The Kettle campaign supports that. It's our only fundraiser that we do all year round," she said.
Just how much has been raised so far this year is unclear, however Kerr said it's well under half of this year's goal of $650,000.
Volunteers for the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign are a common sight in grocery stores and malls across London and beyond. Donning holiday colours, they ring bells and solicit donations for those in need during the holiday season.
However, this year, those volunteers are showing up in smaller numbers, only filling roughly 56 per cent of the shifts needed, Kerr said.
"I don't think I've ever talked to somebody who's done a kettle who has said they didn't like it. They enjoy it. They enjoy meeting people that come and give, even if it's just smiling at someone and saying Merry Christmas," Kerr said. "It's an easy way to give back to your community."
For volunteer Toni O'Connor, that pitch for the importance and ease of volunteering is spot on. It's her second year volunteering for the Salvation Army, and the steady loss of food security in London is the driving force for her generosity, she said.
"It's definitely rewarding. It's nice chatting with people from the community. People are so generous, and it's great to see," she told CBC News while volunteering for the campaign in a west London grocery store.
She said she's seen plenty of generosity so far this season, and volunteering is a great alternative to donating.
"We're here to help our community by volunteering and, of course, support families that are in need during Christmas. I think that's very important," O'Connor said.
Kerr said Londoners who are interested in volunteering should head to the Salvation Army's local website.
"You can see what's available and book your shift, and away you go."