Kentville Salvation Army looking for businesses to volunteer with Christmas kettles
The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Campaign doesn’t work without volunteers, and organizers hope to get more businesses involved.
Gates Insurance owner and Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce second vice president Mark Vardy said staff from Gates Insurance would be looking after a kettle at the County Fair Mall on Dec. 19.
“We’re going to come and have some fun,” the New Minas business owner said. “It’s a chance for staff to get out of the office before Christmas and see people and to help a really good cause.”
He said Gates Insurance has been donating to the Salvation Army for the past seven years. He presented a cheque in support of the kettle campaign to Major Sharon MacLeod on Dec. 9.
Vardy said they are very much aware of the good work that the Salvation Army does. However, he thinks it’s important for staff to be directly engaged in the process and see that they’re giving back to the community.
Vardy said that, if you’re running a business in the Annapolis Valley, you’re very fortunate. He recognizes that there are many people who are not as fortunate as he considers himself and his colleagues in the business community to be.
“It’s just our chance to really step up and help those who need it,” he said. “It’s a great way to help out our neighbours and friends.”
Christmas Kettle Campaign co-ordinator Phil Warren said they see contributions of time from businesses as very important. They had a couple of businesses donate staff time to look after a kettle for a day last year and they have a couple lined up for this year, including Gates and the CIBC. Warren is hoping to recruit more.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to access a whole volunteer base and for the business
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community to become very involved in the program,” Warren said.
The Salvation Army would like to meet with representatives of the Annapolis Valley business community sometime in January or February to help them begin planning for the 2020 campaign. Vardy said he would help facilitate such a meeting through his role with the Chamber of Commerce.
Warren said this could represent a significant boost to the kettle campaign and he hopes the program really takes off. Ideally, they would establish a designated kettle for members of the businesses community to take for a day. He hopes to garner enough support from businesses to cover the entire campaign, which runs approximately 30 days.