On January 27, The Salvation Army in Kelowna held a special Celebrate the Story breakfast to thank service groups and businesses that volunteered to help with the Christmas Kettle Campaign and other Christmas events.

“Helping people at Christmastime and throughout the year only happens because of the generous community support that we have,” says Major Ron Cartmell, Corps Officer at Kelowna Community Church. “So we used the breakfast as an opportunity to educate our volunteers and share the stories of people whose lives are being impacted by the ministry of The Salvation Army.” Major Cartmell and Suzie Docherty, Volunteer Coordinator, were the MCs of the event.

The breakfast gave individuals and representatives of groups and businesses the opportunity to share stories about their volunteer experiences. Speakers included a representative of the local transit company, which operates the Santa Sleigh Bus—a decorated bus that goes to schools in the community and picks up donations for The Salvation Army. Wade Webb of Royal Lepage, who organizes “Fill the Van for the Sally Ann,” also shared. Major Cartmell notes that Fill the Van brings in 70% of the food the Salvation Army's food bank receives in a year.

About 140 people attended the Celebrate the Story breakfast, which was sponsored by GFS Foods. This breakfast was the first ever held by The Salvation Army in Kelowna, but Major Cartmell says he hopes that it will become an annual event.

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