Saskatoon Salvation Army launches 2023 Christmas Kettle Campaign

The Saskatoon Salvation Army kicked off its 2023 Christmas Kettle Campaign on Thursday with the help of Mayor Charlie Clark.

Derek Kerr, the executive director of community and family services with the Salvation Army, said there wasn’t any better way to kick off the fundraiser than with Clark.

“Mayor Clark is out and about in the city; he’s a recognizable face,” said Kerr. “He’s a big supporter of the Salvation Army and we thought it would be a great thing for him to actually kick off the campaign for us and he was more than happy to do it.”

Last year’s campaign helped thousands of families and Kerr said the Salvation Army expects to help even more families this year.

“In 2022, (with) our hamper campaign, we provided hampers for over 3,000 families,” said Kerr. “So that equates to just over 10,000 children and 6,000 adults, and we expect to exceed that target this year.”

Kerr also said in recent years, more and more families are in need of some help due to the cost of living.

“Over the last couple years, we’ve seen since the start of the pandemic the rising cost of goods and services due to inflation,” said Kerr. “More and more people are relying on our programs and services just to survive.”

This year’s donation goal is $325,000 and Kerr expects to hit that marker easily.

“If last year was any indication, we shouldn’t have any problem,” said Kerr. “We’ve got some really good donors here in the city of Saskatoon.”

Regina’s Salvation Army launched its 2023 Christmas Kettle Campaign last Saturday.