The kettles have been put back into storage after a successful drive by The Salvation Army this holiday season, seeing their shelves lined with food to last for months to come.
Overall their total Christmas Campaign raised about $600 more than last year. Salvation Army Lieutenant Rachel Sheils says, “We’re extremely grateful for the help from generous volunteers and community alike. We could not do all we do without the hundreds of volunteers that support us.”
Sheils also expressed her thankfulness for their lead volunteers that helped organize more volunteers. It made their busy season run more smoothly.
The overall households served by The Salvation Army was lower this December compared to last December, but family sizes were bigger.
109 Christmas hampers went out to needy families. Last year saw 129 leave The Salvation Army church.
Lieutenant Matt Sheils notes, “This is the only month in 2010 that Food Bank assistance decreased from last years’ statistics. The decrease is a good thing. 2009 was a hard-hitting year though. Assistance in 2009 was up 20% from 2008. Let’s hope the need continues to decrease, but it is too early to project if it will.”
The Sheils go on to note that the new website, www.drumsa.org, has proved successful because people are checking out what their most crucial needs are. For instance, regular food hamper items are at a healthy level now.
Sheils states, “We will be working on our food inventory this month but by the look of things, the items we needed most appear to have come in. Thank you Drumheller!”