Skip to content

Salvation Army’s kettle campaign will help support those in need

It’s that time of the year again when everybody is buying gifts and planning for Christmas. The Salvation Army also has to start early, to ensure that all of the people they support will have a nice Christmas meal and happy holidays.
Salvation Army
Salvation Army assistant Lynn Rosso, left, and Jane Anne Ireland, responsible for community family services, have already started registering volunteers for the Salvation Army’s kettle campaign. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

It’s that time of the year again when everybody is buying gifts and planning for Christmas. The Salvation Army also has to start early, to ensure that all of the people they support will have a nice Christmas meal and happy holidays.

“Our kettle goal this year is going to be $25,000. And our mailer goal will be $65,000,” said Ronza Reynard, who is the director of Estevan and Weyburn Salvation Army branches.

This year the total goal is $90,000, which is $10,000 less than the previous year.

“We are very confident that we’ll meet our goal. The community is very good at supporting us. (We set our goal lower) just because the economy is a little bit down right now,” said Reynard. “But the food bank use and use for the Salvation Army is up, so we are going to shoot for the best and hopefully hit our goal.”

The first day of the kettle campaign will be Nov. 28. There will be five kettles out at the Southern Plains Co-op and Walmart all week but Sunday, and also at the No Frills, the liquor store and the Estevan Shoppers’ Mall with fewer days.

The mail-out will go out on Nov. 18, and people will start seeing letters asking for donations coming in the mail by the end of that week.

“They can just fill in their donations and send them to us. They can drop them into kettles,” said Reynard.

The Salvation Army’s mail-out always goes to every house, apartment and business in the City of Estevan and the RM of Estevan. And this time there even more mails sent out.

“We send about 6,000 envelopes each year. We did increase it to Lampman this year, we didn’t have Lampman before,” said Reynard.

The range of people they serve is also much wider than just Estevan. They go to just shy of Benson, all the way to the Manitoba border, all the way south to the U.S. border and all the way to Torquay.

“It is a big area that we serve, and we do try to really help anybody who comes through the doors. The map just gives us an idea of who we are looking at. But if somebody came in from another area we’d see if we could help them with something and then point them in the right direction as to where they should be seeking extra help if they need it down the road,” said Reynard.

Jane Anne Ireland, who is responsible for community family services, already started booking volunteer shifts. So far they only called business and organizations to give them heads up, because they usually fill in more shifts at a time. But starting Thursday the Salvation Army opens it up to the individuals.

“Comes the 14th, if individuals want to give us a call at that point and they can fill in the spaces,” said Ireland adding that businesses can also call in and they will accommodate them.

To volunteer, people need to call in the office at 306-634-2074 and ask for Ireland or stop by to register and receive simple instructions.

“Manning a kettle as we call it is very easy. It’s a two-hour shift, and we just ask people to greet people, wish them a Merry Christmas and thank them for their donation. It’s a very easy two hours, and it’s a great way to give back,” said Reynard. “We also encourage students at the high school, they have their volunteer hours. So every year we do have a couple of students that come in and do their hours.” 

They usually do it in groups of two, and children are also welcome. Reynard added that they are also happy to see people, who are willing to entertain at the kettles.

“We have people who play the violin, guitars, we had a harp at a kettle, we had kids singing from one of the schools. So if anybody wants to come in and do something at a kettle, and if we know ahead of time to get permission, that’s a great way to have the Christmas spirit going with everybody in the community,” said Reynard.

“If businesses and organizations want to wear their branding, or girl guides or cadets want to wear their uniform, they are able to do that as well,” added Ireland.

All the money that will be raised in Estevan will stay local. It goes to Salvation Army programs including the food bank, sending kids to camp, their backpack program, seniors lunch and others.

“All the programs that we run, any money that we raise helps offset those programs,” said Reynard.