By Spencer Sterritt

Salvation Army’s Kettle Campaign kicks off with bigger fundraising goal

Nov 22, 2017 | 3:23 PM

NANAIMO — The instantly iconic sound of jingle bells is back out in the Nanaimo community.

The Salvation Army kicked off their annual Christmas Kettle Campaign on Wednesday. Hundreds of volunteers will camp outside businesses and along streets waving their bells for spare change. After exceeding last years’ goal, in 2017 they’re hoping for $250,000.

Dawne Anderson, fundraising and promotions coordinator, said while their campaign hasn’t changed, the situation they’re helping certainly has.

“Unfortunately we have to send people away because we don’t have the beds available to fill the need of our men in the community. We served over 80,000 meals last year.”

Anderson said nearly every program available at the Salvation Army’s New Hope Centre downtown increased by at least 15 per cent.

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Looking to the future, Capt. Dave MacPherson, corps officer and pastor, said serious work needs to be done to alleviate the homeless situation in Nanaimo. Built nearly 130 years ago, MacPherson said the centre is in a “bad state of repair. Structurally it needs to be replaced.”

He said the process to rebuild and expand a portion of the building to provide more services is underway but still in the very early stages.

Moving the community and families ministries office from downtown to the Salvation Army’s church in the Harewood neighbourhood is also a development MacPherson said is a distant possibility.

He said moving the office to a more community focused environment would help any families in need.

“If you can imagine being a single mother with a couple of kids, it could be a little intimidating going into a men’s emergency shelter to seek food or clothing assistance.”

Given how early in the planning stages the Salvation Army is, MacPherson couldn’t give a rough prediction of when the changes would be made.

Since it doesn’t fund capital projects, money raised in Nanaimo from the kettles won’t be used for the New Hope Centre expansions.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit