The goal for the Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle Campaign in Prince George of $250,000 was met and exceeded with a total of $251,000 raised this year. Last year $252,000 was raised.
And for every dollar that comes in, a dollar goes out, said the executive director of the Salvation Army.
"We have been anticipating the number of requests for services would decrease but it has not," said Bruce Kirk. "What we've seen over the last few years is that our Christmas Kettle Campaign and other fundraising efforts we do will only get us as far as September. Once we get into October and November we'll begin to have a difficult time meeting our payroll and some of our bills."
The Tree of Lights fundraising effort raised $55,000, up by $12,000 from last year.
"We really try to run a balanced budget here, we are not socking away thousands of dollars for sometime in the future where we might do this or might do that," said Kirk.
There are many services available to the public during the Christmas season. One is the Adopt a Family program, which matches an individual that wants to help with a family in need.
Both remain anonymous and the donor is given a list of how many people are in the family and how old the children are and the information also includes a wish item - a special request for a toaster or vacuum cleaner, for example.
The program has been used a little less each year. In 2008 there were 205 families served, in 2009 195 families and in 2010 there was 193 - a slight decrease but still a good indication that some things may be changing for some people.
The Tree of Lights had $55,000 come to the Salvation Army in donations. The goal was $35,000. Kirk said he sees many people who were once using the Salvation Army services now giving back.
"The Tree of Lights campaign is 23 years old and over the years has helped literally tens of thousands of families. Some who were many years ago receiving assistance and are now in good shape," said Kirk.
"So when people see the tree they remember what it did for them and they give back. We had one man donate $3,000. He said the Salvation Army helped him when his family was in need." It's all about paying it forward.
The Prince George Food Bank, operated by the Salvation Army, assists more than 250 households per day and more than 2,000 people a month are provided with a hot meal. More than 2,300 people were assisted through the holidays this year.
There were blankets, clothing and furniture provided about 375 times this year.
Operation Hunger Relief brings services directly to Prince George's highest concentration of people in need with more than 70 meals served per day.
There were also Christmas Cheer Packages offered to 559 families this year while last year 419 were given out. There was also 652 Christmas dinners served, which is up from 550 served last year.
"The level of volunteerism that we've seen over the last few years has been very significant," said Kirk. "We're seeing about 800 people that are signing up for kettle shifts and they're doing everything they can to represent us and those that we serve so well. And above all we want to thank the people of Prince George for their generous and faithful support of the Salvation Army services all year round."
