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Giving Back This Holiday Season

We are extremely lucky to have a fantastic team at Wells Gray Tours, who regularly go above and beyond for our clients. But did you know they also volunteer in our local communities? We’re very proud of the work they do and want to share how one of our team members is giving back this holiday season.

Our Vernon Office Assistant, Lynne Demers, has been busy this Christmas, volunteering her time to ‘ring the kettle bell’ for the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Campaign is one of Canada’s largest and most recognizable Christmas charity events with over 2,000 kettles in locations across Canada. Each Christmas kettle location is organized and managed by a local Salvation Army unit. The funds raised stay in the community in which they were donated. It’s wonderful to know your donations are helping your neighbours!

Lynne ringing the kettle bell

 

Here are a few words from Lynne on what it has been like to participate in this campaign for the first time:

“I wanted to give back to the community and so I decided to sign up to ‘ring the kettle bell’ for the Salvation Army. When I arrived for my first shift, I was a bit nervous and wasn’t even sure where to get the kettle. I thought someone would be there already ringing the bell and I would just take over for my shift, but that didn’t happen. I asked a cashier if she knew the procedure and she brought me a bag of supplies. Inside were a couple of jingle bell bracelets, a volunteer lanyard, and some Christmas music, in case one feels like singing Christmas Carols while there. When she handed me the ball, it was empty (of course it would be). That was when I felt a little intimidated…I had to ring the bells and try to fill this kettle! Gulp!

I hung up my kettle and tried to find the best place to stand and ring my jingle bells. Ringing it quietly, but loud enough so people would hear. When the first people that donated, I felt so thankful. I got a lump in my throat and I could barely say “thank you.” People would thank me for doing this and everyone was so very kind and generous. It was really heartwarming! One woman said, ‘thank you for guiding me.’ That really meant a lot to hear that. 

I truly hope that everyone has the opportunity to do something that gives back this holiday season. This was a very special experience for me and I’m going to try to ‘ring the kettle bell’ at least once a week.”

Thank you to Lynne and all the other volunteers who give their time to help others in our local communities.

How You Can Help

If you would like to contribute to the Salvation Army Christmas kettle campaign, it’s easy to make a donation online.  Visit fillthekettle.com, follow the steps provided, choose which kettle location you would like to support, and then make a secure donation using your credit card or PayPal. The online system will automatically generate a tax receipt for your donation.

Written by: Pam Jensen