Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Campaign underway to help with growing need

The annual Christmas Kettle Campaign run by The Salvation Army is now underway across the region.

The organization had its kick-off event on Wednesday with local dignitaries. The Salvation Army will drop 11 red kettles off around grocery stores, malls and some Walmarts to help collect donations during the holidays – all of which go right back into the community.

Core Officer and Executive Director for The Salvation Army, Captain Corey Fifield, was at the kick-off event. He told 570 NewsRadio they are seeing the need continue to grow for their programs and services.

“We’re just in the middle of our ‘Share the Warmth’ campaign and we’ve had almost 1,000 people come in and registered to get warm coats, hats and that sort of stuff – that’s way up from last year,” he said.

With inflation driving up the costs to purchase things like food or toys for the holidays, Fifield mentioned it also means their ability to serve people also goes up in cost.

“For more than 100 years we’ve been here in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, continuing to consistently serve our community. We recognize how much things are getting more expensive every day,” Fifield added.

“We rely on people continuing to support us and give so we can stretch every dollar we get, not just at Christmas but all year long.”

The Christmas Kettle Campaign runs until Christmas Eve around the region.

“Year after year, K-W steps up and makes sure we have what we need and so we’re counting on the same thing this year,” said Fifield. “We just encourage people when you see that red kettle, give generously so we can continue to support the community,”

“All those funds that are raised stay here locally: people can give by cash, they can give by tap, they can also drop by at our location at 75 Tillsley Dr.”

Donations are also accepted online at www.sakw.ca.

The first red Christmas kettle showed up in Canada in 1903 in the City of Toronto. The original idea started way back in 1891 by Captain Joseph McFee, while trying to find a way to help vulnerable people in San Francisco during the holidays. He looked back at his time in England where he watched passengers of a boat drop coins into a large kettle to help the poor. The Captain then put a similar pot at Oakland Ferry Landing and ended up collecting enough donations to host a Christmas dinner for those who needed it.