Keeping up with the times, the Terrace Salvation Army will now be accepting credit and debit donations this holiday season at their kettle stands throughout town.
With hot chocolate, food, live music and lots of Santa hats, volunteers rang in their annual holiday Kettle Kickoff at the Terrace Canadian Tire on Nov. 27 to encourage shoppers to give.
“A lot of people don’t carry change anymore and that’s the thing we’ve heard for years, where people would say I don’t have any change but if we took tap,” says Rick Apperson, local lieutenant of the Salvation Army in Terrace. “And so this year, Salvation Army nationwide decided to make sure that was available because we are going more towards a cashless society.”
Apperson says he hopes this will allow more people to give this year and help their cause, as the money collected in Terrace is put right back into local programs.
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Last year, the Terrace Salvation Army raised a total of $109,000 and their goal for this season is $115,000.
“The money that’s raised here stays locally… at Christmas time we give away over $36,000 worth of toys and food,” says Apperson. “It also goes to the afterschool kids’ program, food share programs, our feeding programs, food banks, and then we have systems where we help get clients into rehab and different things like that.”
He notes the mobile donation machine will circulate throughout the six locations in Terrace, but will primarily be found at Walmart, Canadian Tire, Safeway and Save-on-Foods. The Skeena Mall and BC Liquor store will mainly accept cash donations.
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Apperson adds they’re still looking for more volunteers to take on two-hour shifts so they can have somebody at the kettle stands continuously throughout the day. Those interested are encouraged to contact him directly at the Terrace Salvation Army office.
With the exception of Sundays and Mondays, volunteers will be out every day with their bells and the recognizable red kettle at the six storefronts until Dec. 24.
natalia@terracestandard.com
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