Weblog:
News from the Salvation Army Community Centre
Friday, December 18, 2009
The bells are ringing at Stonegate Shopping Centre this Christmas.
This was released this morning to media outlets in Saskatoon.
Wal-Martand The Brickwelcomed Salvation Army Christmas kettles into their Stonegate stores as of Thursday evening.
Both stores came on board after hearing that The Salvation Army’s kettle donations have been slower than expected this year.
“We want to thank our generous new partners for answering the call,” says Major Henri Regamey from The Salvation Army. “We also want to thank Tony Roma’sfor being the first on board at Stonegate.”
Both Tony Roma locations have “counter kettles,” unmanned kettles that sit at checkout counters during the holiday season.
The Salvation Army is thrilled to welcome these new partners. With their help, we will continue to provide hope to the most vulnerable in Saskatoon at Christmas and throughout the year.
With two new kettle locations and a week to go until Christmas, bell ringers are urgently needed. Volunteers can call Carol at 242-6833.
For more information, please contact:
Jackie Kripki, Communications Specialist for Northern Saskatchewan , at (cell) 306-371-5402
The Salvation Army is an international Christian organization that began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the country. We give hope and support to vulnerable people today and everyday in 400 communities across Canada and 118 countries.
The Salvation Army Christmas Kettles provide families with Christmas hampers that include food for the holidays and toys for the children. The kettles also fund our many year-round support programs, such as counseling, rehabilitation, and family programming.
I know I am late posting these but thanks to everyone who made the 2009 Annual Salvation Army Community Christmas Dinner a big success. I did manage to take some photos and you can see the photoset here or check out the gallery below.
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
Long time Morning Team Brent Loucks and Penney Murphy created the Adopt A Family program in 1988- bringing businesses, communities, families and individuals together to help less fortunate Saskatoon and area families.
The growth of the program in twenty one years has been astounding! $5000 was raised in 1988 and over $100,000 in cash, food and gifts was raised in 2008. More than 400 families, including 1300 children, received gifts and a wonderful meal for Christmas. There are many incredible examples of children who received gifts through the Adopt A Family program, and were so emotionally impacted by the random act of kindness, that as adults have chosen to help another local family.
We are thankful for our partnership with Rawlco Radio through the Brent & Penny Adopt-a-Family and Rock 102’s Toy Soldier campaign as we work with the citizens of Saskatoon to ensure everyone has a Merry Christmas.
It is also the place to find information on helping with kettles and once the locations are finalized, where to find locations to drop of toys for both Toy Soldier and Secret Santa.
Shiny bikes, revving motors and Santa…in September? Once again Saskatoon’s motorcycling community is working together to collect toys for The Salvation Army’s Christmas Toy Hampers. All interested motorcycle enthusiasts are invited to participate and help to make this the biggest and best Toy Run ever.
Participant Admission: A new, unwrapped toy for The Salvation Army Family Christmas Assistance Program, or monetary donation.
If you have any questions, talk to Major Henri at 242-6833 (office) or 260-9057 (cell). You can also contact him via email at henri_regamey@can.salvationarmy.org.
It's been quite a year and we want to thank our the Government of Saskatchewan for continued funding, the support of thousands of people making donations at the Centre, via the Christmas kettles, and the Red Shield appeal, and all of the other NGO's in the city that we work with on a daily basis to make Saskatoon a better place to live for people in need.
Today was hamper distribution day and I was able to get in just before we opened to the public today to take some photos of what the Salvation Army and the people of Saskatoon were able to give out this Christmas. Thanks to everyone who gave to the Star Phoenix's Sporting Christmas, at the kettles, at the Centre, and to both Adopt a Family and Secret Santa. We made a huge difference!
Food hampers ready to distribute. In addition to the food in these boxes, each family receives a turkey or a ham, carrots and potatoes.
The bags are full of toys for the children. Each bag was specifically put together with toys from Rock 102's Toy Soldier campaign. The toys are wrapped, sorted, and are waiting here for families to come and pick them up.
The annual Santa Shuffle Fun Run & Elf Walk brings families and friends together. The event is held across North America and we had a record number of runners and walkers taking part in 2008. This merry event helps The Salvation Army to assist families and individuals in need during the Christmas season and throughout the year. A big thanks to everyone who participated in the run and helped make a difference in the lives of Saskatoon families this year!
“There is nothing that says ‘Christmas Spirit’ like the community coming together to help a less fortunate child have a toy to open on Christmas Morning.” says Shack, Rock 102’s Morning Show host.
This morning 120 Saskatoon volunteers gathered at the Salvation Army Warehouse and wrapped thousands of toys, as part of Rock 102’s 2nd Annual Toy Soldier Wrap Day!
The 1st Annual Wrap Day made history in 2007 as the first year ever local children of Saskatoon had wrapped presents in their Salvation Army hampers. Volunteers & Rock 102 wrapped over 15,000 gifts, all of which were donated to the Rock 102 Toy Solider campaign by thousands of generous individuals in Saskatoon.
Over 18,000 toys were collected this year!
Thank you to all of the volunteers, our sponsors, Midtown Plaza, Mc Donalds, SMP and the Royal Bank. A special thank you goes to everyone who donated a toy and to SGI & Zellers for their generosity.
The Salvation Army will distribute all toys to needy families on December 22nd.
Become a part of Rock 102’s Toy Soldier by encouraging your workplace, family and friends to collect unwrapped, new toys! Last year we collected and wrapped over 15,000 toys making history, thanks to the generosity of… YOU! This year we want to ensure every single child in Saskatoon has a present under their Christmas Tree. One toy makes a huge difference.
With the support of Midtown Plaza, McDonalds, Royal Bank, SMP and the generosity from YOU, we plan to make sure every less fortunate child in Saskatoon has a reason to smile this Christmas.
There are two ways you can help:
1) Purchase a new toy and drop it off directly at a Rock 102 Toy Depot and head to any toy store in Saskatoon, purchase a toy and then drop it off at any of our Toy Depots:
Round up your troops and collect toys within your business. Encourage staff members to participate by purchasing a new toy (price doesn’t matter). For more information or to sign up by clicking here. Or call 934.2222 Ext 362.
All toys will be donated to the Salvation Army Christmas Hamper Campaign!
The Star Phoenix Sporting Christmas is 33 years old and has raised a whopping $903,668.60 over the last 32 years for Salvation Army Christmas hampers. According to the Star Phoenix
Sporting Christmas is all grown up -- 33 years old this winter, with a sterling reputation and a lengthy list of friends and acquaintances.
Every winter, while people prepare for December gatherings around home and hearth, our Sporting Christmas fund is nearby.
Money raised through Sporting Christmas goes straight to the Salvation Army, which provides Christmas hampers for 2,000 to 3,000 families.
The StarPhoenix administers the campaign, but we don't take a single penny.
Every bit raised goes into helping families who otherwise don't have the means to provide the Christmas basics so many of us take for granted.
Think of it as one big, long-running Christmas gift -- one that's raised $903,668.60 during the last 32 years.
That total includes $66,780 last winter -- our second-highest total ever -- with more to come in 2008.
Our daily Sporting Christmas updates traditionally run on the front sports section, but this year, we're trying something a little different.
We plan to shift our updates to the front page of the paper many days, because let's face it -- our donors don't have to be sports fans to participate.
This is a fund for everybody, whether you have $1 to give, or $5, or $1,000, or any number that feels right for you.
We are thrilled to have partners like the Star Phoenix as we work together to ensure that everyone in Saskatoon has a wonderful Christmas.
Wal-Mart and the Salvation Army Partnering to Help Those in Need
Today some of us were at Wal-Mart at Confederation Park Mall for the kick off of the Christmas Kettle Campaign. It is a national kick-off in Saskatoon and nine other cities across Canada. You can read more about the national campaign here while if you want to look at some photos from the Saskatoon kick off, you can find them here.
The Salvation Army Denny Carr's Secret Santa was started by CFQC morning man Denny Carr in 1983. Since then its has become one of the most successful campaigns in the city raising donations to help 600 needy families by providing food hampers and unwrapped toys for children 12 and under.
Saskatoon Media Group General Manager Vic Dubois says the annual event has proven successful because it focuses on children whose families may not be able to provide food or gifts at Christmas. It's gained support over the years from a number of corporations including TCU Financial, Co-op Food Stores, SJ Irvine Fine Foods, and the Carolling Firefighters who raise funds by singing at various establishments during the period leading up to Christmas .
Dubois says his group couldn't do it on their own, and praises the support the campaign gets saying its an entire community effort. There are drop off points throughout the city, including City Hall where unwrapped toys can be left and cash donations made on behalf of Denny Carr's Secret Santa campaign. Mayor Don Atchison made the first toy donation at this morning's kickoff event.
