Jessica George
Stores are playing Christmas music and displaying festive ornaments, children are writing their wish lists to Santa Claus, and the Christmas spirit already is in the air.
But for some, hearts are heavy because they’re worried they won’t be able to put food on the table for the Christmas meal or that the tree will have little or nothing underneath it.
Fortunately, with the help of the Fort Frances Salvation Army and a generous community, there is hope for these families.
Once again, the Salvation Army is starting up its Christmas programs to help those in need. This year’s slogan is “Giving the Gift of Hope.”
But the Salvation Army can’t do it alone. As Capt. Angel Sandoval put it, “If we have, we give and if we don’t have, unfortunately there is no way to give.”
So he and his wife, Capt. Marlene, make it their work to encourage the community to give what they can during these times.
The Salvation Army, thanks to donations and support the community gives, puts together Christmas hampers. It also runs two programs during the Christmas season: Adopt-a-Family and Sponsor-a-Family.
With the Adopt-a-Family program, the Salvation Army provides a profile of a family—complete with a hamper food list and a wish list.
Armed with this information, the “adoptive” family will shop around and put together a hamper and donate it.
With the Sponsor-a-Family program, a benefactor may donate $200 to the Salvation Army to help a family. With that money, the Salvation Army will go out and purchase the things that are needed, and will put the hamper together themselves.
With both of these programs, the recipients and benefactors all remain anonymous during the process.
Besides these direct donation programs, the Salvation Army also will be setting up Christmas kettles around town again this year to accept any monetary donations people would like to give.
So far, the Salvation Army plans to set up outside Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart, Safeway, and the LCBO. However, they still are looking for volunteers to actually stand by the kettles and ring the bells.
“We encourage everyone to volunteer. Two hours here and there is not too much,” urged Marlene Sandoval.
“I commit to a few hours a day and you know what, it’s fun,” she enthused. “You ring the bell and you meet people. You say hello and Merry Christmas.
“And it’s not too cold,” she assured. “We always stand inside.”
The Salvation Army also will be leading the annual Santa Claus parade again this year, collecting non-perishable food items and monetary donations.
“Everything that we collect during Christmas time, with the programs, the kettles, and the parade, whatever we collect at Christmas time, we use specifically for the hampers,” explained Capt. Marlene, who is encouraging people to donate during this time so they can help as many families as possible.
“The money goes to the families in need directly,” echoed Capt. Angel, noting the local Salvation Army covers not only Fort Frances, but also from Rainy River to Atikokan and north to Sioux Narrows.
Last Christmas, they provided hampers to 225 families across the district.
If you’re interested in helping a family this Christmas, contact the Salvation Army no later than Nov. 19. You either can call the Salvation Army at 274-3871 or drop by the Citadel on Victoria Avenue (across from the clinic).
If you are in need, and would like to receive a Christmas hamper, you can pick up a registration form on Nov. 24-25. To sign up, you need to provide legal ID for each family member as well as documentation of your annual income.
This information is necessary in order to calculate your need so the Salvation Army can better serve you. It also is needed in order to comply with government regulations.
After you have filled out the form, you must return it to the Salvation Army on Nov. 27-28.
With 94 years of the Salvation Army helping out the community, and with all the support the community has given its endeavours, Capt. Angel sincerely hopes people will continue to be so generous.
He acknowledged things are more tight this year given the trying economic times, but still encourages those with a little more to give to those who do not.
