THERE’S A GRAVE CONCERN about the number of young people turning to the Salvation Army for assistance.
Speaking to the DAILY NATION yesterday following the charity’s annual Christmas hamper distribution, business manager Sherma Evelyn said although she was unable to give figures, there was a definite increase in young people coming for donations.
“We also see a lot of young ladies with children [and they are] not working. Some are pregnant, can’t find jobs.
“We still have the elderly coming through and we have no problem with that. The concern we have, though, is the amount of young people coming through.
“It’s very distressing to see young women who are in need and the situation is so dire,” Evelyn said.
“We have our thrift store, which they also use a lot as well. We sell clothes for next to nothing, and they would come and buy; they would prefer you to let them buy something than for you to keep giving them. And those funds are put back into our feeding funds and other things.”
Even as she thanked donors, Evelyn said they had fallen far below this year’s goal for the kettle drive.
“The funds from the Red Kettle are used to buy the groceries for the hampers and so on. So far, we have raised $250 000 and the kettle goes up until the 23rd [of December]. However, our target was $750 000, so we are way behind.
“We are making an appeal for persons to give more. People are giving, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kind of hard at this time to write a cheque for $10 000 or so because things are tight all round,” she said.
This year, the charity gave away 1 200 hampers to the needy. Other organisations such as the Learning Centre and National Disabilities Unit, as well as people who supported the Salvation Army, also received donations.
They included food items to make Christmas just a bit more comfortable. The annual Christmas dinner will be held on Tuesday and the Salvation Army expects to feed 300 people. (DB)
