The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign’s final numbers are in, and it raised $97,000 in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
That is unfortunately about half of the admittedly ambitious goal of $200,000 set for this year’s campaign, and did not match $138,000 raised during the 2021 Christmas season.
Weather was a factor, and Stuart Richardson, the 2022 Christmas Kettle Coordinator, noted some kettle shifts were cancelled because bell ringers were simply unable to even get out of their driveways due to snow.
But many of the volunteers did show up, and they were thanked by the organization.
“There were some very cold, snowy, icy, rainy and sunny days and you showed up for all of them. I am so inspired by your diligence and loyalty – you sure made my job so much easier,” Richardson said in a message to his volunteers.
Richardson said the spirit at the kettles was very positive, and the first-year coordinator found it heartwarming they way his volunteers got involved. There were 98 individual volunteer bell ringers, and they covered 653 shifts in total. Thirty-six of those who manned the kettle did so for the first time.
The most shifts done by one volunteer was 24, out of a total of 32 days of bell ringing.
High inflation has been blamed for numerous charities saying they have seen a dip in donations over the past year.
Richardson said the community was giving, and there were a lot of donations of $50, and several of $100.
“In today’s climate, that’s pretty generous,” he said. “To take that money out of your pocket, when you’re going to buy groceries, is an amazing act of altruism. It restores my faith.”
Their biggest day for donations was the second-last of the campaign, and on Dec. 22 there was a total of $5,046.
He said many youth groups and teams got involved, including Guides, Knights Football, sports teams from swimming, softball, soccer and hockey organizations, Maple Ridge Christian School, international and local high school students, and Royal Le Page Realtors.
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