Your spare change can mean a lot to some needy families during the holiday season. Major Brenda Coles from the Salvation Army in Portage la Prairie says they're halfway through their annual Christmas kettle campaign and they're also about halfway to their target of twenty-five thousand dollars. Coles notes the kettles have brought in approximately thirteen thousand dollars to date, adding if that kind of pace keeps up it would be fantastic. She says if the Salvation Army doesn't hit their goal with the campaign, they'll have to take funds from their food bank account and that will affect what's going to happen the rest of the year.

Coles notes although people donate a lot of food at holiday time, they always have to order additional supplies because they need to fill Christmas hampers for close to six hundred families. She says folks also get a gift card with their hampers so they can receive the meat of their choice, and these expenses do add up. Coles adds that's why it's very important that the Salvation Army meets its target with the kettles.

She says the food bank and the hamper programs deal with the basic necessities of life for families in need and they also help bring a little extra joy over the holidays. Coles notes sometimes that may seem a little mundane to the rest of us, but it's bread and butter giving and is quite essential. She adds they would greatly appreciate it if people could reach deep when they see a Salvation Army kettle around town. The kettles will be out again this weekend, next weekend, and on the 22nd and 23rd of December as well.