Christmas campaign meets goal

Kelowna’s Salvation Army raised $696,000 in its Christmas campaign, an 18 per cent increase over the year before.

Officials are thanking supporters, and the many volunteers who helped out.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of this community” said Captain Darryl Burry, Executive Director of the Kelowna Salvation Army. “The financial support we received from our Christmas Campaign supports the year round programming and services we offer here in Kelowna-Lake Country. We are so deeply thankful to all those who made this campaign a success – for the thousands of volunteers who rang bells, sorted toys, counted donations, packed bags, participated in our Christmas events and so much more. We are so blessed to have a community that cares for others and wants to make an impact in people’s lives.”

This Christmas, due to the generosity of the community, the Kelowna Salvation Army was able to Share Christmas with 526 local families which included toys for over 1021 children.

The social agency added the ability to ‘Tap to Donate’ at four of it’s kettle locations for the latest campaign .

“We wanted to provide our donors with the option of debit / credit card transactions at the kettles. We hope to continue to provide this service at key locations in the future. However, what needs to be noted is that the bulk of our donations still come in the form of cash. It is truly amazing to experience that when many people give, even a small amount, it makes a huge difference,” said Burry.

This year marked a significant change for The Salvation Army as they have undergone some restructuring, with the communities of the Westside (West Kelowna, Westbank and Peachland) now an independent operation.

“With the growing dynamics of the various communities, we desired to be able to address local concerns more quickly and effectively. This restructuring provides that opportunity,” Burry added.