Like most operations, the Weyburn Salvation Army was presented with many challenges this past year, due to the COVID-19 restrictions. “We had to do only phone appointments for three months and this caused us to miss out on our face-to-face meetings, which is so important to have conversation. We also had to implement no-touch hampers,” said Lauralee Fanning,Community Ministry Coordinator for the Weyburn Salvation Army.
Fanning was recently announced as the new Community Ministries Coordinator, and has felt honoured to be working with such an incredible community.
“Our school lunch program was new this year, and also was beneficial to many in the community. During April, May and June, we gave out about 100 lunches per day. We helped many in need and had great support from the community for this outreach.”
The Thrift Store part of the Weyburn Salvation Army had to close from the middle of March until June. Fortunately, the Salvation Army still received a lot of overwhelming support from the community during this time.
“Another challenge we have seen is that many who would not normally need help have reached out for support due to COVID,” said Fanning. “Our numbers have increased and with the help of the community, we have been able to meet the needs of the rising numbers. The Food Bank has seen an increase each month with new families coming in.”
The Back To School Backpack program supported the children with their school needs once again this year.
Most of the Weyburn Salvation Army programming right before Christmas had to have changes implemented. Instead of the Adopt a Family program, the Weyburn Salvation Army started a Toy Store and Christmas Hamper program.
“The parents will have the ability to shop in our store for their children. We had to do things so different this year because to COVID-19 and the new protocols so it has been a new and exciting experience for everyone,” said Fanning.
There was an increase of families in need this year, similar to how there was an increase to the Food Bank program. “With the community support we have been able to meet all the demands,” said Fanning.
One of the community support programs included a turkey drive, where the Weyburn Salvation Army collected donations of 100 turkeys for their Christmas Hamper program. As of Dec. 11, the Weyburn Salvation Army reported 158 Christmas Hampers were given out and 172 children between the ages of 0-17 will have toys under their tree picked out by their parents.
The Kettle Campaign was also changed because of the COVID-19 protocols, as they could not have volunteers at physical kettles this year. Instead, the Weyburn Salvation Army introduced mini-kettles at counter locations at Wholesale Club, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Peavey Mart, Prairie Sky Co-op, Pharmasave, Weyburn Credit Union, and Rona Weyburn. There will be a Kettle Campaign day at Walmart on Saturday, Dec. 19.
“The Christmas Appeal has been successful and we are confident we will meet our $80,000 goal,” said Fanning.
It will be business as usual for the Weyburn Salvation Army for 2021, as they continue to operate their Food Bank, Thrift Store and other programs to continue to meet the needs of the community.
