Expansion Plans in the Works at The Salvation Army in New Liskeard after Successful Christmas Kettle Campaign
After a very successful Christmas Kettle Campaign, the shelves in the food bank at The Salvation Army in New Liskeard will be full and ready to serve the community in 2023.
Donations at the three kettles located at Independent Grocer, Walmart and Food Basics totaled $36,000 and over $53,000 was donated through the mail.
“Because of the growing need right now, we reached out to the community for their support like never before and they came through for us in a big way,” said Salvation Army Lieutenant Robbie Donaldson.
Lt. Donaldson says companies and service clubs were invited to staff a Christmas Kettle for a day and many high school students who were completing their volunteer hours offered to stand at kettles. This helped tremendously because kettles were then out more often.
“I also want to thank one of our soldiers Trudy Woods who took on the role as Kettle Coordinator volunteer this year. Due to her efforts, we were able to reach out further into the community about the local need.”
The support from volunteers combined with a radio advertisement campaign sponsored by Independent Grocery resulted in a great campaign in New Liskeard. All the funds from the Christmas Kettle Campaign will be used to stock the food bank. Lt. Donaldson says The Salvation Army serves about 100 people a month with groceries. In 2022 the Salvation Army New Liskeard also provided 200 community meals and continues to provide food for approximately 1100 households per year through the food bank.
The food drive during the Christmas season was also a remarkable success. “We’ve been sorting food for days. We must have collected about eight thousand pounds of food from the community including the fire department, Ontario Provincial Police, schools and businesses,” said Lt. Donaldson.
With the additional funds this year Lt. Donaldson said they are going to expand their meal program and engage people in ministry, as well as expand their seniors’ program and their partnership with Northern Star, which offers mental health services by the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Lt. Donaldson said because they had such a momentous year, the winter storm on the 23rd and 24th did not set them back much. “We were ahead and so grateful for the gifts we received so we closed the kettles on those two days and ended our campaign early.”
“On behalf of all our neighbours, we sincerely thank everyone for their financial and food contributions during our 2022 Christmas Kettle Campaign. The Salvation Army has been supporting people in New Liskeard and area since 1924. By the grace of God we may continue to serve our neighbours,” said Lt. Donaldson.
By: Caroline Franks
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