The Christmas season is around the corner and the Salvation Army has many ways for everyone to give something back to the community again this year.
Lieutenant Brian Bobolo of the Estevan Salvation Army noted the local food bank is well stocked at the moment thanks to recent food drives in the city.
"We've had a couple of food drives that people have done," said Bobolo, noting the Estevan Comprehensive School did one on Halloween night, collecting about 500 pounds. "That's a really great thing and really helpful for us."
He said they are about 80 per cent stocked going into Christmas, which is where he would like to be.
Bobolo noted they require greater donations around Christmas because, on top of what is usually made available through the food bank, they give out more with their Christmas hampers.
He said they want to ensure everybody is able to have a good meal over the holidays. The Salvation Army uses some of their funds to go toward turkeys and other traditional Christmas foods that aren't typically in stock.
"Christmas will put a bit of a drain on the food bank, so we'll be looking for the new year and maybe a few food drives for the winter, but we'll get through Christmas for sure," Bobolo said.
The Salvation Army will receive a portion of the proceeds from the Huron Carole concert and a food drive will be held at the Estevan Bruins game on Dec. 7.
The Kettle Campaign will kick off on Nov. 24, running straight to Dec. 24. This year's goal for the campaign is $30,000.
"All those funds go to all our family service ministries: the food bank, the camping ministry we send kids to in the summer and some of the money will go to the Out of the Cold program that we're doing in partnership with St. Paul's United Church. Some of the funds will be saved for emergency relief," he added.
The Kettle Campaign is the Salvation Army's major fundraiser of the year, and Bobolo said it's great because there are no administrative costs.
"One hundred per cent of it stays in the community."
He noted they are still working on plans for the Nov. 24 kickoff, but in the past it has been held at the Estevan Shoppers Mall.
The Angel Tree will be up again at Walmart from Dec. 3 to 15, allowing people to purchase gifts for children who may not receive them this year.
"Customers come by and pick a little angel card off the tree," said Bobolo. "There is information on the card for what child they buy for, so there is the age and gender of the child. People pick up the card, they walk into the store and buy something and take the angel card and the purchase back to the tree."
At the end of each day, the gifts are collected and taken to the toy store.
The toy store will be held on Dec. 20 and 21, and that's when the children will come in to receive their gifts. The store has been held at the Anglican Church but due to some renovations it will be moved this year. The location has yet to be determined.
The Salvation Army will also accept donations when the Holiday Train rolls through town, stopping in North Portal and then Estevan on Dec. 17.
"It's all for the community, right? The food bank belongs to the community. We believe nobody should go hungry at Christmas and nobody should go cold throughout winter," Bobolo said. "That's what all these drives are all about."
