The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Salvation Army yesterday said it was “hoping” the Christmas run-up will generate sufficient funds to aid their anti-poverty work despite having experienced a volunteer fall-off amid COVID-19.

Major-General Clarence Ingram told Tribune Business: “Right now we've really only started our kettle campaign. We had to delay it because of COVID-19. So we actually just started on Monday.

"We started late with the kettle campaign this year, some two weeks later than we normally would. We typically start in the middle of November. Of course, we don't really have a good handle yet on how things are going with the Christmas kettle campaign. But otherwise, of course, there are challenges because of COVID-19.”

Adding that it was “too early to tell" how charities and their fund-raising will be affected by the pandemic's economic fall-out, Mr Ingram said he has reduced the Salvation Army's volunteers, many of whom were retirees.

In previous year's the organisation would have 20 stationed around New Providence at high customer traffic areas, but it is now only operating with ten. Mr Ingram added: “Many of our volunteers are worried about the COVID-19 as they are at high risk.

"It's just a matter now of making sure that we're doing the right protocols and, of course, we are, but one of the things is to make sure that people are social distanced and ensuring everything is disinfected and sanitised every day.”

Income will also be hit by the reduced amount of venues where the Salvation Army is normally stationed, coupled with the impact that COVID-19 is having on the economy.

Mr Ingram added: “We're hoping, you know, during the next couple of weeks that we will come through reasonably, but we don't know. So we're just taking a day at a time and seeing how it goes.”