Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Napanee’s Salvation Army will be holding Christmas Hamper applications Nov. 27, 30 and Dec. 1 at its church on 82 Richard St. from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The three day registration is a bit of a change from previous years when it was five days.
“We were finding we had a lot of lull time and we’d be open for Food Bank on some of those days,” said Dana Henry, community and family children services coordinator with the Napanee Salvation Army.
Condensing the registration into three days will allow volunteers to continue to run the Food Bank that week as well with no interruptions.
“They need to bring their financial information, i.d., income and monthly expenses,” Henry said of the Christmas Hampers registration.
“For families that apply we go out and purchase gift cards,” she added. “So they can go out and buy whatever they feel they need or want for Christmas because some people don’t do turkey or don’t have space to store it. So it’s easier for us just to give them a gift card so they can go out and purchase what they want.”
The hampers will be distributed on Dec. 22. Anyone that wants to donate to the hampers can drop by the Food Bank during their hours of operation. They’ll also be accepting donations of toys for kids 12 and under, which they will also distribute to the less fortunate this holiday season.
Along with hampers, the Salvation Army is also gearing up for its annual Kettle Campaign, which will kick off Nov. 17 and run through Dec. 23. Because Christmas Eve is a Sunday, they’ll be wrapping up the campaign one day earlier than usual. They hope to make up that time with some extra shifts throughout the month long campaign. They’re also hoping shoppers who may typically wait until Dec. 24 to make their donation to the kettle will take note.
Volunteers to stand by the kettle are always needed. Anyone interested in giving a few hours of their time throughout the season can call 613-354-4735.