The Salvation Army has surpassed the target of its annual Christmas Kettle and Letter Appeal fund-raising drive.
During a press conference at its Reed Street, The City headquarters, chairman of the advisory board Paul Bernstein said that the charity received $817 671.
The target for the drive last year was $700 000.
Bernstein said the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was putting a huge strain on the organisation, as more people were in need of assistance. He expressed gratitude to the public and private sector for their generosity.
Last year, the Salvation Army helped 750 people to acquire furniture; 4 987 food hampers were distributed, while the Christmas hampers totalled 4 002; 26 480 people received hot meals from the feeding centre; while the Meals on Wheels programme distributed lunch to 10 653 people.
Divisional business manager Sherma Evelyn said that it costs about $500 000 to operate the feeding programme on an annual basis.
In addition, the Salvation Army participated in initiatives such as back-to-school drives, nursing home and hospital visits where gifts were distributed to patients and a Sunday School and nursery programme.
Evelyn said all the monies given to the charity were spread across the entire programme range.
Bernstein added that the major plan for the organisation this year was to partner with a well-known company to set up donation containers at the company’s cash registers across the island. (SB)