Every year on the first Saturday in December the Santa Shuffle is held in 35 cities across Canada. This year the run that started in Edmonton 19 years ago spread beyond our borders. We had some unexpected participants register from the Canadian Airbase in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Despite being overseas, MCpl Carly Hasselman, Cpl Crystal Piluke and Sgt Chris MacIntyre registered to run as part of the Edmonton Santa Shuffle.

Along with the race packages, t-shirts, a start line, kilometre signs sent from The Running Room, The Salvation Army sent some extra goodies from home and gifts for the troops. The soldiers registered as a way to maintain contact with home and participate as though they were here with us – minus the snow, of course.

“The route was strewn with boulders and you would be shocked at the terrain we run in,” Sgt Chris MacIntyre explained. “It makes us appreciate our Edmonton River Valley so much more,” Sgt MacIntyre added.

The Edmonton Santa Shuffle, postponed due to poor weather conditions on December 5 when the run took place across the country was rescheduled for December 19, where approximatley 400 runners participated in this years’ Fun Run.

The Salvation Army would like to wish all our armed forces, both overseas and at home, a Merry Christmas.

The Salvation Army has kicked off this year’s Christmas Kettle campaign.

In a very short while you’ll soon hear the sounds of ringing bells and change, coming from street corners across the city.

The Christmas Kettle campaign has been helping Canadians in need for over a hundred years and helps Calgarians access services like employment assistance, counseling and food programs.

The Salvation Army’s, Pam Goodyear, tells 660news people need to dig deep this year to help accommodate the growing number of those in need.

They hope to raise over $1.2 million this year, a goal they were unable to meet last year.

In an effort to ramp up donations, they have added more kettles around the city, 79 in total, and two of those will be at CrossIron Mills Mall.

Source: 680News

The need for donations to The Salvation Army is rising now that the holiday season is on its way, says Captain Randy Hale of Fort McMurray, AB. Read the full story

For over 50 years children have been coming to Pine Lake Camp in the Alberta & Northern Territories Division where they have learnt about the extreme makeover God can do in their lives.

This year the camp facilities also received an Extreme Makeover. On August 8, 2009 Commissioners William & Marilyn Francis opened & dedicated four new ‘state of the art’ camper accommodations. In addition to sleeping accommodations for 32 campers and program space in each, they also include a tornado shelter. The camp is located in what is known as tornado alley and each year there are several tornados that touch down in the area so when the new facilities were being designed it was determined that these should be as safe as possible.

For several years campers have been “making do” with temporary accommodations in tents, bunk houses made out of the craft hut and portable washrooms so it was exciting to see the smiles on the faces of campers and faculty as they arrived for the annual Music Camp.

The Music Camp Faculty Band and campers were all dressed in lime green t-shirts with the theme for the week “Extreme Makeover – Camp Edition”. In addition to the official ribbon cutting for the camper accommodations Majors Fred & Wendy Waters were installed at the new Divisional Leaders for the Alberta & Northern Territories by the Territorial Commander.

On Sunday, August 9th, Commissioners Francis joined with the Music Camp for their worship service where the Commissioner William Francis challenged all those present as spoke on the text “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a). During this service the Divisional Commander, Major Fred Waters installed several new members of the divisional team – Captain Bram Pearce, Divisional Youth Secretary, Major Sandra Stokes, Area Commander and Captain Pam Goodyear, Divisional Secretary for Public Relations & Development.

We rejoice for what God has done and has yet to do at Pine Lake Camp.

EDMONTON – Residents and staff of the Carrington Living Seniors Complex say thank you to The Salvation Army for their generous support and care following a fire that destroyed a wing and left 160 homeless on May 31.

The Salvation Army National Recycling Operations in Edmonton stepped in to provide clothing, toiletries, towels, bedding and furniture.

Says Maureen Stewart, NRO operations manager for Edmonton: “We are very involved in the community as it relates to disaster services. We are here to help people in their time of need.”

“With the slumping economy the demand for Salvation Army services is up 10-30% in every province,“ says Andrew Burditt, Salvation Army Public Relations Director for Canada and Bermuda. “As layoffs and plant closures occur, those who once supported The Salvation Army are now seeking assistance.” Read the full story

Dec 17 - CAL - Agencies that rely on the generosity of Calgarians during the holiday season have noticed an unsettling trend this year: there are more people to help and fewer donations.

“The need is increased and I don’t think that comes as a surprise to any of us. There are people that, a couple of months ago were working and, now they’re trying to figure out how to make Christmas happen,” says Major Ron Cartmell from the Salvation Army. Read full article…

Source: CTV Calgary

Nov 26 - AB - Alberta’s oil and gas “boom town” may be bursting with economic opportunity, but many of Fort McMurray’s young, multi-lingual workers find daily life to be a challenge.

“There’s a searching that’s taking place,” says Salvation Army captain Randy Hale who, along with his wife and two children, relocated from Newfoundland in July. “People are striving to fill a void in a variety of ways.” Read full article…

Source: Christian Week

Nov 6 - CAL - “Come and donate to Toy Mountain for the kids,

‘Cause the holiday’s the perfect time to give.

It’s a time of tight finances,

So you’ve got six weeks of chances, to bring your SpongeBob SquarePantses to Lite 96 … ”

Who better than Calgary’s beloved band of Heebee-Jeebees to sing about the launch of the 16th annual Salvation Army Toy Mountain toy drive yesterday. Read full article…

Source: The Calgary Sun

Life doesn’t often turn out quite how we expect it to. This can be especially true for parents trying to raise a young family. Imagine each of the following situations: Read the full story