The Salvation Army has their kettles out and are hoping for one last burst of generosity before the holidays. 

Kristin Marand is the Media and Communications Coordinator for the Prairie Division of the Salvation Army.

"We're off to a really great start," says Marand. "With the Christmas season, it's the first thing people think about when they think about the Salvation Army. It is such a well-known campaign. You can see it when you go grocery shopping or local malls, all around town."

The charity isn't seeing the numbers they normally do. 

"We're getting down to the wire and the kettles aren't quite as full as they normally are, so we are asking for an additional push."

People who are out and about shopping over the next week can donate at the kettles themselves, whether with cash or card. However, people can donate online. 

"Last year, unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity to have the kettles out in the community, which forced us to rethink things. Moving into the second year since the pandemic, we're trying to provide options to make it as easy as possible for folks to donate."

For people donating online, they can choose which community the funds go to. 

"The Salvation Army has many services. The money stays in the community where it's donated. We have a number of churches that set up and arrange all the volunteers to work their selected kettles. If the money goes in that kettle, it goes to that church or community centre in the area and funds the programs they run."

Some of the programs include kids sports, education and employment, seniors programs, as well as food programs and homeless shelters.