While for some organizations 2020 turned to be a slower year, it's definitely not the case for the Salvation Army in Estevan. Now more than ever, the community needs them, and they are also in need of community support.
Their kettle campaign is set to start on Dec. 2. Volunteers will be out in the community up until the afternoon of Dec. 24. The campaign will help the Salvation Army to ensure that every family in the area has something on their tables no matter what situation they are in.
The kettle goal for this year is set at $20,000 and the goal for the mail-out appeal is $60,000.
"Total is $80,000 between the two (fundraisers). It's a little less than last year, but we also realize that this year is so different than any previous year … so we want to be sensitive to what the community is going through at this time, and we want to make sure that we put a goal that's reasonable, that we know we can use that money for the upcoming year and be able to meet the needs of the community," said director of ministry Ronza Reynard.
All money raised at Christmas and throughout the year stays in Estevan and is used to purchase food for those in need. In 2020, the local Salvation Army was supporting over 2,000 individuals on multiple occasions and will provide help to many other individuals before the end of the year.
The kettle and mail-out campaign help the organization to meet the needs of the community. This year it will be pretty similar to what people are used to seeing, with a few minor changes.
"Right now we are in all of the locations that we are normally are in," said Reynard.
She explained that some regular volunteers this year won't be able to participate if they are in higher risk groups of the pandemic. For that reason, the Salvation Army might have kettles out less this year.
"We probably are going to be putting our kettles out Wednesday to Saturday, as opposed to Monday to Saturday. So we are going to cut that back a couple of days."
Volunteers, ringing bells and accepting donations, will be at Estevan's locations of the Southern Plains Co-op’s Estevan grocery store, Walmart and Clifton's No Frills from Wednesday-Saturday, as well as at the Estevan Market Mall and Liquor Store on Saturdays.
Reynard added that many people already reached out to them expressing their interest in volunteering.
"We are excited about that, and if we have enough volunteers and we can put them out for these extra days, then we will. But right now we want to brace ourselves and prepare for what the situation seems to be looking like, which is a few less volunteers than we normally would get," said Reynard.
The Salvation Army usually gets companies taking several shifts, but now that many businesses switched to working from home, it might be a bit more difficult to have people join the campaign.
The mail-out will take place at the end of November, so people can be watching their mailboxes for the Salvation Army's envelopes soon. While people can always donate cash or submit a cheque, both through the mail or in person at the thrift store or kettle locations, this year the Salvation Army also came up with a new digital system.
"We ordered a few things called TipTap … These will be attached where the kettles are, and people can just tap their card. And I believe they are going to have three different amounts - $5, $10 and $20, so people who want to be cashless, they can just tap the card on any of those. It's just tap and go," Reynard explained.
The kettles will be sanitized on regular basis and volunteers will be keeping distance. Unfortunately, due to precautionary measures, they won't be able to hand out traditional calendars or candy canes to kids. But people can stop by the thrift store to pick their calendars.
"We've just worked with all our businesses to see what their protocols are as well as what the Salvation Army's protocols are on how to do kettles this year," Reynard said,
"We are planning everything like normal, doing all the things that we've done every year."
"We are so blessed. We live in a community that supports the Salvation Army, and the surrounding communities support us. We are happy that we can be here for anybody who needs something. Come in and see us, make a call, and we'll help anybody with whatever we can for whatever situation they might be in," Reynard said.
They also are planning to take calendars and possibly teddy bears to seniors again. While they might not be able to go door to door this year, they still can drop some Christmas cheer in particular locations, so later it could be delivered to seniors.
If someone is interested in volunteering for the Salvation Army's kettle campaign, they can call 306-634-2074, ask for Jane Anne Ireland and she will arrange the kettle shift(s).
