A whopping 700 spots need to be filled to run this year’s Salvation Army kettle program.
“It’s funny when I started the job I thought ‘oh no problem,'” said Val Fenn, first-year kettle program co-ordinator. “But when you do the math and you realize it’s 700 spots it’s kind of, wow. It’s a 25-day campaign with at least seven locations and the shifts are two hours, so it adds up.”
The campaign raises funds for a variety of Salvation Army programs including the Christmas hamper program and food bank.
Last year $111,000 was raised through the campaign and this year the goal is to reach $160,000. All money stays in the community.
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Fenn got involved with the kettle program last year by volunteering with her church.
“It was rewarding. Usually you see people you know. That’s the big thing, you get a chance to connect with people you might not have seen for awhile. Most people will smile and people are really very generous,” she said. “It’s just kind of fun. It’s a fun thing to do for a worthy cause.”
She also helped with the Christmas hamper program.
“When you get to see the other end of things … Last year we gave out 850 hampers. You really see how many people are affected by the money that is donated during that time. A lot of the money goes to the hampers or the food bank and when you see the need in Penticton it’s easy to volunteer time,” she said.
Kettles are setup daily from Nov. 22 to Dec. 24 between the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (except Sundays) at Walmart, Superstore, Safeway and the liquor store in the plaza and on select days at the Canadian Tire. There is also hope volunteers in Summerland and Oliver will come forward so kettles can be setup there as well.
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Several community groups sign up and often take full days of manning the kettle.
“We have people that volunteer every year. They’re great. There’s even a man that brings a guitar and likes to play music, and that’s great. The people really like it. We’re just hoping more people come forward and that people from Oliver and Summerland want to volunteer their time so the program can run in their communities,” she said.
Training is provided and the volunteer can choose their time and location.
Anyone interested should contact Fenn at PentictonKettleCoordinator@shaw.ca or text or call 250-488-0726.
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@TaraBowieBCeditor@keremeosreview.com
