Now involved in her 24th Christmas kettle campaign, Beverleigh Broughton says she has seen the need in the community grow every year, especially in the last 10 years.
Through the annual Christmas kettle campaign, the Guelph Salvation Army funds its Christmas food hamper and toy hamper programs.
“We have had a steady increase of people looking for our services ever since that recession in 2008," said Broughton.
Last year, Guelph Salvation Army came up about $27,000 short of its $160,000 fundraising goal.
Christmas kettle coordinator Clarence Bradbury said the organization is setting the same $160,000 goal this year.
“Last year we didn’t make our target, but we are hoping and believing we will this year," he said.
So far, five kettles have been placed around Guelph. By the middle of December the number of kettles will rise to about nine.
More kettles mean more funds, but Bradbury said the kettles that do best are the ones staffed by volunteers, which he calls the engine of the campaign.
“If a kettle is fully staffed, a lot of money comes back at the end of the day. It could be anywhere between $500 to $1,000," said Bradbury.
One volunteer in particular has committed to giving 60 hours of his time between now and Christmas.
"This is one person, but we will need up to 2,400 person hours at kettle locations between now and December 24,” said Bradbury.
The money collected from the Christmas kettle campaign goes toward funding the Guelph Salvation Army's Christmas hamper program, including everything a family needs to make a turkey dinner with all of the sides, as well as food for an additional three to four days.
There also hampers geared toward single people and another hamper for new Canadians that include chicken instead of turkey.
Also included in the hamper is a cookbook with recipes in a number of languages.
“We put it in as a resource to help people know how to make the most out of that meal with what they have,” said Broughton.
She estimates about 1,120 food hampers will go out this year, up from 1,040 last year and Broughton said 800 to 1,000 toy hampers will also be delivered.
Along with partner agencies, a total of 5,000 food hampers are expected to be delivered in Guelph this holiday season.
Bradbury said volunteers who work the kettles are uplifted by the stories they hear when people contribute. Some of them are giving back now after having received help from the Salvation Army in the past.
“The people of Guelph have always been generous and it’s a pleasant experience for volunteers who go on a kettle for the first time to see that, to see the generosity that’s out there,” he said.
