Nicholas Donaldson
The local Salvation Army once again is astounded by the generosity of the community as its annual Christmas campaign nears an end.
As he stood among piles of toys, jackets, clothes, food, and games on Tuesday, Lt. Ryan MacDonald estimated the “toy mountain” this year already was around $25,000.
“We are going to help hundreds of families with our hampers this year,” he told the Times.
Lt. MacDonald said about 60 percent of the donations came from The Bargain Shop’s annual toy drive for the Salvation Army that has been going on for the past month or so.
The rest was gathered during B93’s annual “Burst the Bus” event back on Dec. 2 and through individual donations from all over Rainy River District.
Some items Lt. MacDonald pointed out included virtual reality games, remote control toys, and stuffed animals as large as himself.
He noted everything would be going back to the local families the Salvation Army supports, stressing those families could be of any race or creed.
Workers at the Salvation Army will begin sorting the donations and putting together hampers to give to families leading up to Christmas.
“Thousands of people will be affected by what we give out next week, I can definitely say that,” Lt. MacDonald enthused.
“Every year we are amazed by how giving this community is,” said community ministries manager Jill Pernsky.
“No matter if it’s good times or bad times, they always support the Salvation Army and we couldn’t do our work without that support,” she stressed.
The Salvation Army’s iconic kettle campaign also is part of its annual Christmas drive, which Lt. MacDonald noted once again is doing very well in the area.
“We have raised over $60,000 in funding at this point in time and we still have a week-and-a-half left,” he said, adding they will be out there right up until Christmas.
As always, those kettles can be found at Safeway, Wal-Mart, and the LCBO.
Volunteer bell-ringer Damien Breton said the experience really helped him realize what the Salvation Army does for the community, and is thankful he had the opportunity to help.
“It really blessed my life just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when I hand them a candy cane,” he remarked.
Pernsky agreed the work can be eye-opening, and added people have told her they never realized the scope of what they do.
“Or how much work goes towards getting it done,” Breton quipped.
