The Salvation Army in Yellowknife has once again begun their annual Kettle Campaign fundraiser event, but they are experiencing some difficulties in the first few days.
The Kettle Campaign is the largest fundraising event that the Salvation operates throughout the year. The kettles are set up at select locations around the city, and in the last few years, tap functionality has been installed for people to simply use their debit and credit cards to donate. The campaign largely operates with the help of local volunteers, but currently, only 46% of their 35 shifts are covered this week, with only 38% covered overall for the campaign.
Jason Brinson, the Executive Director for the Salvation Army in Yellowknife, explained that they have encountered this kind of volunteer drop before.
“There has been a little bit of a shift in terms of volunteering. We saw a dip in the amount of spots that were covered during COVID. We obviously recognized that there were some folks who were a little uncomfortable in volunteering, or just we unable to just based on the restrictions that were in play during that time. We are seeing a reduction in numbers quite significantly this year where we’ve got very few spots in compared to last year covered.”
Any member of the public can come forward to volunteer. A volunteer must be at least 16 years old to stand by the kettle by themselves, otherwise an adult will be stationed there as well. Volunteer shifts are on Thursdays and Fridays from 4:00 to 8:00, and on Saturdays from Noon until 6:00.
“The Kettle Campaign funds stay local in Yellowknife, and go to support our Christmas Support, and also throughout the year, so that’s things like toy drives, clothing vouchers, food hampers, and other Christmas supports. It’s really an all-year round funding event, in terms of what it funds.”
Volunteers can sign up at yzfkettles.ca, which will take you straight to the scheduling site. Volunteers can also reach out to [email protected].
