(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Season to give

Salvation Army Christmas collection drive in full swing

Nov 30, 2021 | 12:00 PM

Vivian Shipanoff has been volunteering with the Salvation’s Christmas Kettle campaign for a number of years, and was there Tuesday morning greeting people at the Lake Country Co-Op grocery store in Prince Albert.

“I don’t mind doing it for them. I appreciate what they do,” she said.

There are four collection kettles set up in Prince Albert this year (Wal Mart, the Co-Op grocery store, Safeway and Superstore), and while there’s a number of generous volunteers like Shipanoff, there could always be more. Mike Hoeft is the Salvation Army’s area commander for Saskatchewan and told paNOW he knows people lead busy lives.

“And so finding the time to volunteer sometimes is a bit of a challenge but if they can spare even just a couple of hours, we can find a spot for them to work on the kettles,” he said.

No change? No problem. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

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One big change this year is the Salvation Army is not distributing hampers. Hoeft explained that after consulting with a number of other agencies in the area who are also handing out hampers, they decided to focus their efforts on the toy collection drive in parnership with the Optimist Club. The age range is new born to mid-teens.

“Just to make sure those who are expecting a toy under the tree are going to get one this year,” Hoeft said.

Donation boxes have been set up at various businesses across the city. Toys or monetary donations can also be dropped off at the Salvation Army. Hoeft said he is grateful for the community’s support.

“It really is a community effort to make sure everybody has a good Christmas,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell