Major Charlotte Dean of the Salvation Army waits for the first group of people who applied for a Christmas hamper at Gateway Mall. (Rob Mahon/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Christmas Hampers Begin

Busy Christmas season kicks off with gift hampers for Salvation Army

Dec 12, 2022 | 12:00 PM

The Christmas season is a busy one for the Prince Albert Salvation Army, and one of the busiest parts of it is officially underway.

This morning, the Salvation Army began handing out Christmas gift hampers at Gateway Mall. They organization had a huge number of applications this year, so the donations received so far are a massive help.

“The Optimist Club has been doing the Santa Anonymous campaign, which has really, really helped a lot,” Major Charlotte Dean with the Salvation Army said. “This year, we had about double the kids to provide toys for.”

Shopping for those kids became a lot easier thanks to a donation from the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, who, according to Dean, provided them with $25,000. Without that generosity, it would be a tough Christmas season for them.

“Even if you’re trying to provide a toy for $25 a kid, it costs a lot,” Dean said. “That has made it possible this year. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. And people have been donating generously at kettles.”

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The cost of toys is higher this year, unfortunately, due to the inflation.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had young children in our family, and we’ve really noticed a significant difference this year,” Dean said. “Things that I thought we could get for $25 were $40. We’re noticing even something as simple as a baby doll is considerably more expensive. We’ve definitely noticed the inflation. It’s hard. You watch for the sales, you do what you can.”

The rising cost of toys isn’t making things easier, especially since the Salvation Army in Prince Albert is helping more families this year as well. The location saw a steady rise in the number of people looking for a lot of their services, and gift hampers are no different.

“This year, we’ll probably be close to the 600 family mark,” Dean said. “Some families have one child, some families have seven. We did increase the age limit, which probably increased it by about 200 kids. We went up to 16 years of age because we think that’s important.”

Dean added they often find kids in their teens are the hardest to get gifts for, so if people can provide donations for that age group, it would be greatly appreciated. She also said they’ll be taking donations right up until Dec. 18, but would like to get them as soon as possible.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP