The Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Kettle Campaign wrapped up last weekend with a total of $160,000 raised in donations.
There were more than 4,000 volunteer shifts during the six-week campaign collectively at the 18 locations across the Langleys, and while the goal of $225,000 wasn’t reached, operations manager Julie Gilfillan said it won’t stop the charity from offering its full services.
“We’ll always make it work… we’re not going to cut anything. We’ll find a way to provide,” she said.
She said the campaign ended on a “good note” with the amount raised considering the state of the economy and inflation impacting communities.
“It was a challenging campaign, but we pushed through and I think it ended well.”
Donations from the campaign go towards supporting the Langley Salvation Army’s family services department, which covers community meals and family food hampers and kids camp, among other things.
The Salvation Army in Langley gives out more than 100,000 meals each year, Gilfillan estimated, and nearly 900 backpacks of school supplies were given out to Langley kids this year.
“We are seeing more and more need grow, during and after the pandemic,” she commented.
“We never want to turn somebody away or put a cap on a program. All those pieces weigh heavily on us at Christmas because this is our longest and largest fundraiser of the year, and we have to raise the majority of our fund for the year in this campaign,” Gilfillan explained.
She added her thanks to the community members who donated and volunteers who participated in this year’s campaign.
“We appreciate everything everyone was able to do, and we have the utmost appreciation for everybody who was involved.”
READ MORE: Langley Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Kettle Campaign in full-swing
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