The Salvation Army is putting out a call for bell ringers to help with its Christmas Kettle fundraising campaign.
The Salvation Army Christmas kettle campaign runs from Nov. 18 to Dec. 24 at retail locations throughout Windsor-Essex.
The campaign is The Salvation Army's largest public fundraising drive of the year and relies on the funds raised to feed, clothe, shelter, support those in need.
The fundraising goal this year is $350,000.
Major Danny Pinksen, Executive Director of The Salvation Army Windsor Centre of Hope, says their volunteer base is down greatly compared to pre-COVID-19 campaigns.
"When there are volunteers standing next to The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle stand, the donations have been very good," he says. "The challenge is we have a lot of vacant slots which there is no bell ringer or volunteer, and so when there is no bell ringer or volunteer, we don't get any donations."
Pinksen says one of the key factors contributing to a successful kettle campaign is having bell ringers next to the stand.
"We found that early on, at least two weeks, we see a trend and the trend is the number of volunteers is down greatly. That's impacting our bottom line, in terms of enabling us to reach our financial fundraising goal," he says.
If you have spare time of two hours of more and would like to volunteer, please contact the coordinator, Leena, at 519-971-5878 or kettles@salvationarmywindsor.ca. You can also sign up at www.salvationarmywindsor.ca.
With files from Rob Hindi