By Carlena Knight
The Salvation Army will be counting on the public to assist in its effort to raise EC$160,000 through the annual Christmas Kettle initiative, which gets underway today.
The Christmas Kettle is the group’s largest fundraising event with the money helping to fund several of its community outreach programmes to include distribution of food packages.
In recent years, the goal has been surpassed despite the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and last year was no different with the organisation revealing it had raised more than EC$200,000.
That was a pleasant surprise, according to Chairperson of the Advisory Board, Sharon Brusch.
“We thought that people weren’t going to be able to give as much as they normally do. So, our expectations were not that high as previous years.
“We set the bar at EC$160,000 and we exceeded that and we want to express our appreciation for the public for coming through for us.
“I mean this is a fantastic opportunity to give back to your community. This is where the Salvation Army really puts out at the end of the year and prepares fantastic Christmas ham for the less fortunate in the community,” Brusch said while speaking on state media earlier this week.
“This is an opportunity for everyone to contribute to the pot and we are so grateful for what we have received last year and we are happy that people are already preparing to give again this year.”
The limited number of volunteers to man the kettles has been an ongoing issue for the group, but a renewed call is being made by the Divisional Secretary of the Salvation Army, Major Ramoncile Pierre, for people to donate their time to the worthy cause.
“Well, that has been a big issue … it may not be as we would like it to be because there are times when we don’t have many persons out there. We have eight official kettle spots and sometimes we can barely fill four of them,” he explained.
Volunteers can call 462-0115 or visit the office at 36 Long Street to sign up.
This year’s Christmas Kettle programme will run from November 12 to December 24.
An official launch will be held at 10am today at the Epicurean Fine Foods and Pharmacy store on Friars Hill Road.