For The Love of Giving – Malcolm Jenkins in Prince Albert

This past Christmas, requests for assistance by way of Christmas hampers and children’s gifts increased substantially all over Canada. Many of our neighbours found themselves struggling to make ends meet due to rising interest rates and post-pandemic inflation. The city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, was no exception. Almost 600 families turned to The Salvation Army in Prince Albert for help.

Of course, families struggling to pay their bills and necessities weren’t the only ones affected by the economic situation. Folks who previously would have donated toys, non-perishables or money found themselves in a position of having to make tough choices as well. As a result, the donations that came in couldn’t quite match the demand.

When Malcolm Jenkins, owner of Prince Albert’s Canadian Tire and Party City, heard about the need in his city, he contemplated how he could best assist.

“We do quite a bit in the community, and I wish we could do more. We have to share it around. And this year, I was reading about how you had quite a shortfall in gifts for the kids,” he says.

Jenkins has a history of philanthropy in his city.

“We concentrate most of our donations in the city. We’ve built parks and spray pads, soccer buildings – we’re trying to do things that cover health and children. This one seemed to fit the bill perfectly. You needed it. We thought, well, why not this year? And we did,” Jenkins explains.

The Malcolm J Jenkins Family Foundation donated $25,000 to the Prince Albert Salvation Army so that they could purchase toys for children in age groups where donations fell short and to top up Christmas hampers. Jenkins says he feels good giving to The Salvation Army because he can see the difference it makes in his community.

“I always try and find out where it’s going, and I know with you guys, we’re getting it to the right people. So, I feel very, very comfortable supporting you guys.”

In addition to the monetary donation, which helped greatly in filling the gaps, Jenkins also offered deep discounts at Canadian Tire, so The Salvation Army could stretch the donation even further and buy more toys than they would have been able to somewhere else.

“It was a perfect circle, really. We have lots of toys, and they needed toys. I thought, well, a simple way is to give them money through our foundation, and if they want toys, they can buy the toys, and we give them a heck of a deal so we can sort of magnify the effect”.

Jenkins, who recently celebrated his 80^th birthday, has been awarded the title of Citizen of the Year numerous times for his charitable and community contributions. But he isn’t in it for the accolades:

“I just look to basically do the right thing. You see someone on the sidewalk who tripped, and you go and help them up. You just do the obvious,” he says.

“The need in Prince Albert was overwhelming, and toy donations were down in number due to inflation. Having Malcolm’s foundation step in, in this capacity, was beyond what we imagined but made the impossible possible,” says Major Charlotte Dean of the Prince Albert Salvation Army.

“As newcomers to the community, we are warmed by the generosity he has offered. Hearing the stories of others and now being the recipients has shown us the kind of people and place this is. You are a light in the darkness Malcolm; thank you!”