The Salvation Army of Saskatoon has noticed a difference this year in their donations because of the postal strike which just ended on Monday. Captain Derek Kerr, co-executive director of Community and Family Services, says bout 65 per cent of their donations for the year are collected between November 1st and December 31st.

He explains that not having postal service has hindered the donations from seniors who prefer to mail in cheques, but in some cases, they have been able to donate over the phone, in others, they have dropped their donations off, and the Salvation Army has been able to pick some of them up. But now that postal service is back, Kerr hopes to see some of those cheques that have been stuck in the mail showing up.

As of Wednesday, the kettle campaign had raised just under $250,000. The goal is to raise $325,000 by the end of the year. Proceeds from the Christmas Kettle Campaign goes to all of their services, like the men’s shelter, transitional living programs, school programs, and Food on the Move in the summer which stops at parks to provide lunches for children.

You may have also heard of all the Christmas hampers the Saskatoon Salvation Army organizes. Kerr says they do over 4,000 hampers for families in need, which helps approximately 10,000 children and 6,000 adults. If you would like to donate your time, Kerr adds that they can always use more volunteers for the Christmas kettles at 12 locations around the city.