The Salvation Army works year round to help those that are in need. At Christmas time, though, they are able to take that help even further.

Each year they provide Christmas hampers to help those who may not be able to afford to celebrate during the holidays.

In the past, volunteers would spend a lot of time packing food into hampers, but Major Wendy Broome explained why that changed.

“Last year we decided to go to a gift card, that way we are allowing people to have Christmas the way they define Christmas. Not everyone has turkey and not everyone likes stuffing or what we see, often, as a traditional Christmas dinner. So we give them a gift card to be able to go in and shop and buy what they would like for Christmas.”

Broome said they chose to go this route because with giving gift cards for Safeway and Co-op, the various dietary and cultural needs could be met for a wide variety of people.

You don’t need a referral to apply to receive a hamper. You just need to go to the Salvation Army office with proof of income for everyone in the household, as well as health cards.

Broome said they have already received over 100 applications, and typically see over 500 for the season.