Through the Christmas Kettle campaign, the Salvation Army is embarking on the challenge of providing food hampers to over 5,000 households and toys to over 3,000 of those households. And it all has to be done while maintaining social distancing measures and mask wearing amid increased need.

Salvation Army’s Major Mike Hoeft says this year is a bit of a double whammy with fewer Christmas Kettles in fewer locations and they anticipate a higher number of requests for their services. There will be Christmas Kettles in eight locations in Saskatoon as well as those, at other designated sites, without a volunteer present which have tap options. A mini kettle campaign has also kicked off which are small counter-top kettles that can be found at participating retailers.

Major Hoeft says if people remember the Salvation Army for their monetary giving during the Christmas season and keep in mind that may look different from the Christmas Kettles seen in stores and malls. There is an online option or he suggests a check could be mailed in to the Salvation Army as well. He also points out their volunteers are often older and they are seeing a drop in the number of people available to oversee a Christmas Kettle.