The familiar red kettles of the Salvation Army will be out and about again this Christmas season.

Lieutenant Chad Cole says they're counting on the local area to be as generous as it has been in the past.

"Our goal this year for the kettle campaign is $110,00, last year we raised just over $115,000," he says. "We set our goal just below that again because we're hoping to match that or beat it this year."

Lieutenant Cole says the whole foothills area has been very supportive over the years and especially at this time of year.

"This is the only time of year that Salvation Army reaches out to the public for money for fundraising donations," LT. Cole says. "It's only this six weeks. But the money that's raised during the campaign we really depend on to run all of the ministry services that we do the entire year."

They'll kick off this year's kettle campaign at Friday night's High River Flyers game at the Rec-Plex at eight o'clock.

Kettles will be set up in High River at the Sobey's, No Frills and Co-op grocery stores and in Okotoks at the Sobey's and Walmart and beginning Dec. 11 at Costco.