BEFORE YOU start spending your bonus next month, you may want to consider giving some of it to the Salvation Army this Christmas.
The evangelical/welfare organisation will be launching its annual Christmas kettle collection drive on Friday with a target of $4 million in mind and they are hoping that you will give generously this year, despite the downturn in the country's economy.
"We hope the giving will be generous this year, that it will even supersede last year's because the need is greater," said Lieutenant Colonel Clinton Burrowes, Divisional Comman-der of the Eastern Division of the Salvation Army.
He pointed out that the Salvation Army had to cut back on some of its social services this year because of a shortfall in collection last year.
The Salvation Army in fact collected just over $1.2 million instead of the targeted $2 million.
The situation was made worse by the fact that the maintenance appeal, the organisation's other major fund-raiser, got off to a late start, beginning in July rather than April. Slow public response has also hurt the finances of the organisation.
Colonel Burrowes, who pointed out that there will be about 50 persons collecting money across the island as of this Friday, said a large portion of this year's collection will go into the Christmas Welfare Programme where about 2,000 packages of food will be distributed.
Among the programmes run by the Salvation Army in Kingston are a clinic in Rae Town; basic schools in Havendale, Rae Town and Allman Town; a soup kitchen for homeless and destitute people in downtown Kingston; and a children's home in Havendale.
