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406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 905-337-2066 w w w. c o b b l e s t o n e m b e rs . c a MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS Thank you for another successful year. We wish you all the best in the new year! 7 W ednesday , D ecem ber 22, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Unlike in years past, it seems the Grinch has not made an appearance at the Salvation Army in Oakville to steal Christmas this holiday season. Going into the final week of its annual Christmas Kettle campaign, the local Salvation Army has been doing well and has collected more than $80,000 at its various locations around town. However, in order to reach its goal of $115,000, people will have to be generous in the final stretch leading up to Christmas Eve, which is the last day of the campaign, said Aisha Chaney, community and family serv- ices coordinator for the Oakville Salvation Army. Hopefully, with volunteer sup- port and when people are out shop- ping, they will be able to give a little to our kettles and hopefully with that support well be able to meet our goal, she said. We have been doing well. Were definitely up from this point last year. Last year, the campaign had a close finish to reach its $100,000 goal. It had only reached about half the fundraising goal heading into the final week of the campaign and just enough donations came in to get it over that hump. This year, the Salvation Army needs less than $35,000 in the final week to reach its goal. Were still shy of our goal, but were hopeful because last year at this point we were down a lot more than this. Our Kettles, definitely because of volunteer support, have been up this year. This is a bit of a departure of the Salvation Armys national campaign, which is about $8 million short of its $18 million goal. All money raised stays in its community. Chaney said volunteer support has been up this year with the Salvation Army having trouble filling only a few of its 12 Kettle spots. She added that this final week is crucial to the Salvation Army if it is going to meet its goal. The money funds the Christmas Assistance Program, as well as the programs the organization runs year- round. The Salvation Army in Oakville assists about 150 fam- ilies throughout the year and the numbers climb at Christmas. Last Christmas, the program assisted 747 families, which represented 1,233 adults and 2,424 children. Chaney said it is still unknown how many families will need assistance this year as applications are still coming in. She added the money is crucial to the organization. This is our main fundraising campaign of the year and this money goes to fund our Christmas program and our programming for the entire year. This is where the vast majority of our funding comes from. To benefit from the program people must register in person. Registration requires show- ing identification for all members of their fam- ily and demonstrating they are not receiving assistance from another agency. Once qualified, the family is invited to attend the Salvation Armys Toy Depot this year at 105 Cross Avenue on a specific date and time. At that time, parents are able to shop for gifts for their children and are issued food vouchers redeemable at local stores. In both instances, the people are then provided the choice of providing the gifts and food they wish for their family. Kettle locations are at Oakville Place, upper and lower levels; Hopedale Mall, Walmart, Superstore, Fortinos, Bronte Village Mall Sobeys and five LCBOs (Dorval Crossing, downtown Oakville, Hopedale Mall, Oak Walk Drive and Cornwall Road). In launching the 2010 Kettle campaign, the national Salvation Army is also using Google to allow donors to track giving and fill local kettles by visiting www.FilltheKettle.com. The Christmas Kettles will appear on street corners across Canada, such as in Oakville, and on Google Maps allowing donors to locate and make a secure online donation directly to indi- vidual kettles in their community. For more information visit www.salvation- army.ca. Kettle campaign doing well but donations still needed Hopefully, with volunteer support and when people are out shopping, they will be able to give a little to our kettles and hopefully with that support well be able to meet our goal. Aisha Chaney, community and family services coordinator for the Oakville Salvation Army