The Prince George Salvation Army has a new set of wheels to help out during its busiest season of the year.
As the annual kettle campaign heats up and donations pour into the charity over the holiday season, the Salvation Army will be able to load their gear into a new van, courtesy of a local auto dealership.
"Our fleet of trucks has become very uneconomic," Salvation Army business co-ordinator Bill Glasgow said. "I approached [Brent] Marshall in October to see if Northland Dodge would help us in that campaign and they agreed to lend us this ProMaster for the Christmas season and they're going to help with a fundraising campaign in the new year to upgrade our fleet."
The new vehicle is already on the road helping to deliver kettles to collection locations and will be called upon Saturday night to help pickup the toys from the Prince George Cougars teddy bear and toque toss.
"It's going to be all over the place doing food pickups, doing hamper distribution, picking up donations left, right and centre," Glasgow said.
Currently, the Salvation Army operates two trucks, one from 2004 and the other a 1987 model. Glasgow said the maintenance and gas bills on the existing fleet is "astronomical" and takes away from the mission of the charity to put as much money back into its community efforts as possible.
As a result of the aging trucks, once the Christmas season is over Northland and the Salvation Army will team up to try to raise more than $100,000 for the purchase of two new vehicles for a more permanent solution.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army still has plenty of tickets available for Friday's second annual Tree of Lights luncheon at the Coast Inn of the North.
"The menu that's being put on by Save-on-Foods and the Coast Inn is just phenomenal," Glasgow said. "You won't get a lunch like this anywhere else for the price it will cost you."
The varied menu ranges from roast beef, roast turkey, prawns, salmon and a roast suckling pig. There will also be live music, a silent auction and door prizes.
The event begins at 11:45 a.m. on Friday. Tickets cost $30 and are available at the Coast or by calling 250-564-4000.
