The need is so great and the number of hungry so many, the Salvation Army in Prince George is starting its Christmas Kettle campaign now with a new feature.
"Although it is said that the present economy is supposed to be on an upturn, we are seeing no evidence of that at the street level," said Jenn Schultz, S.A. administrative assistant.
Right now the Salvation Army is seeing an average of 6,000 people per month who need assistance or services," said Schultz.
"Our campaign need is greater than it's ever been to raise $250,000 to help us get through Christmas and the winter."
In early summer, statistics showed that children make up 37 per cent of food bank clients while 22 per cent are in the elderly population and there had been a 40-per-cent increase in numbers who had never before used a food bank.
Over the year from 2009 to 2010, bread and produce clients had increased by 81 per cent, meals served increased by 95 per cent and food hampers were up by about 40 per cent.
At that time S.A. officials attributed the increase to loss of jobs, layoffs, unemployment insurance running out, working poor (minimum wage), and retired people on fixed incomes who couldn't make ends meet as costs rose.
The new feature for the kettles is called Adopt a Kettle "to encourage team building amongst local businesses so that we can all serve the community together," Schultz said.
The idea is for businesses and groups to partner with the army to take ownership of kettle for a day or several days.
"A company can choose their own kettle from a list of locations and own that kettle for the time they choose," said Schultz, noting the kettle will have signage attached to show the company as a kettle sponsor.
As well, sponsors will be acknowledged in a full-page ad in The Citizen at the end of the campaign, will receive a tax receipt for matching donations up to $1,000 or more, and will be invited to the annual Spirit Of Mission Awards dinner where special supporters of the Salvation Army are honoured.
Sponsors can request the Salvation Army to co-ordinate its own volunteers to staff the kettle or use its own employees to handle the task.
To register as a kettle sponsor call Schultz at 250-564-4000 Local 222 or fax a letterhead addressed to Adopt-A-Kettle for a quick response.
