Charlottetown Salvation Army kettle campaign sets record

The Salvation Army in Charlottetown says generous Islanders have helped it raise more than $125,000 in this year's red kettle campaign — a record amount.

Captain Jamie Locke says the goal was $100,000.

"The Salvation Army Charlottetown has never broken $100,000. To go this far and way beyond the goal, it's an overwhelming show of support. We're quite grateful," he said Sunday.

The campaign ran from Nov. 24 to Dec. 24 at malls and grocery stores. The total amount raised was $125,619.20. That's $32,000 more than last year.

Locke says the organization's hard work has resonated with Islanders.

"I believe we've worked very hard at the Salvation Army to get the message out about what it is that we're doing and what's been happening at the Salvation Army, and I think that's perhaps gained public interest and I know people are often willing to give and to invest in something if they're seeing positive results," he said.

The money will be used to run the food bank, morning breakfast program and the Bedford MacDonald House shelter.

"We're heavily dependent upon the donations that we receive. It carries us, our operations throughout the year. It's absolutely critical that we try to do our best to meet our goals when it comes to fundraising," Locke said.