The Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle campaign is officially underway

The Salvation Army's annual Christmas Kettle campaign kicked off on Wednesday morning (Nov. 22) at the RBC branch in High River.

Major Brian Beveridge kicked it off with Mayor Craig Snodgrass and some staff from the Royal Bank of Canada.

Beveridge says they have a lofty fundraising goal this year.

"This year we're trying to raise $125,000. Last year we raised $119,000 plus and the usage at the food bank has gone up and so we're expecting, because of the higher prices of groceries and different things, we're expecting a lot more applicants."

With the current state of the economy, they've already had a lot of requests for hampers come in.

"Right now, we have 695 kids applied for toy hampers, and we've had 289 families that have applied for hampers."

The first donations are made by High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass, Major Brian Beveridge and RBC Branch Manager Parth Bhavsar.

RBC has also been a partner for many years now and Pam Done, RBC Foothills Community Manager, is thrilled with the partnership."It's so important to give back to the communities that we live in, that we work in, making sure that we help our communities thrive and prosper. And giving back to those in need and showing a sense of belonging for everyone. We pride ourselves in being active and involved not just in High River but throughout the Foothills."

Beveridge also expressed his gratitude to community member and business owner Blair Gordon with Century 21 Foothills Real Estate as he has donated some space to allow the volunteers a place to store items and wrap gifts. The basement of the Salvation Army church has been the usual go-to space but due to the large demand for Christmas hampers they've outgrown the space. 

Beveridge reminds residents that all funds raised stay in the community.

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