Salvation Army kettle campaign could lose up to $5,000 due to Walmart fire

The fire that forced the north Regina Walmart to close down during the Christmas season is hurting a local charitable program.

Capt. Kristen Gray with the Salvation Army said the kettle campaign raised almost $13,000 at that Walmart location alone last year.

After the fire, the kettle was moved from Walmart to the Canadian Tire on Albert Street but is not expected to raise as much.

“We’re grateful that Canadian Tire has allowed us to place the kettle that was at Walmart in their store, so that has been great. However, there’s just not the same kind of foot traffic at Canadian Tire,” Gray said Wednesday.

While the Salvation Army is recouping some of the lost revenue that it would have received at Walmart, it’s not matching those numbers.

“We’re expecting that we’re going to have some loss as a result of that Walmart not being open,” said Gray.

As it stands, the Salvation Army estimates it will end the campaign with a $4,000 to $5,000 loss to this particular kettle, which could prevent it from reaching its total goal of raising $215,000 across Regina in 2019.

The Salvation Army does have extra kettles it can use but it would first need to find new locations at which to put them. It would also have to find new volunteers to man the kettles, which can be tough the closer it gets to Christmas.

“It’s not just a simple matter, unfortunately, of just putting the kettle out somewhere else because then we’d have to man that kettle,” Gray said.

Gray said the Salvation Army is hopeful it can still come close to its goal this year. It’s still accepting volunteers and would welcome another business if it chooses to step forward to host a kettle.

She also encourages shoppers to put an extra dollar or two in the kettles at the other locations. There are kettles in the other Walmart stores in Regina and at the Real Canadian Superstore on Rochdale Boulevard.