Vancouverites can dream of a white Christmas all they want, but the usual reality is dismal grey skies with drizzling rain. Unless a trip to the local ski hills is in the works, the next best thing to get into the winter spirit is heading to the city’s outdoor skating rink.
While it isn’t quite as big as New York’s Rink at Rockefeller or London’s Somerset House, the Author Erikson-designed rink — as part of the provincial law courts, UBC branch and government offices — is hugely popular with ice skaters of all abilities, from graceful figure skaters to kids whipping around with their skates bent so far inwards it looks like their ankles are touching ice.
The rink was busy as ever Saturday as the Salvation Army hosted its second annual Sally Skates as part of a final push to meet its provincial fundraising goal of $4 million by Christmas Eve. Skating at the rink is free, but the Salvation Army had its red kettle balls out, gave hot chocolate to those who donated to the food hamper, and volunteers with boxes of candy canes skated through the throngs of families and cosplayers who took a break from the Akimatsuri convention at the nearby UBC Robson Square to strap on the blades.
“When we collect toys and when we collect food like we are today at Sally Skates, or whether we collect donations at the kettle, that just really helps families,” said Deb Lowell, the Salvation Army’s communications and marketing director. “That is so, so very important for us to be able to do that.”
The 150-year-old Salvation Army organization runs a variety of international social programs that run the gamut from homeless shelters and drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs to disaster relief efforts and a missing persons tracing service.
“Last year in Canada, the Salvation Army served 1.8 million Canadians so certainly there are many families who are struggling with poverty,” Lowell added. “We see one in five kids live in poverty and that’s a really, really tough stat. It’s unacceptable and, especially at Christmas time, we want to make sure no child is forgotten.”
The Canada-wide fundraising goal is $21 million by the Dec. 24 deadline, and considering 86 cents of each dollar actually goes to programs and not administration costs, every bit really helps, said Lowell.
“You know, we’re just so thankful to not only our staff, teams, partners who are surrounding us today, but also the volunteers. We are truly an army, and with the help of all those people we are able to stretch the dollar further.”
The Salvation Army is an international charitable organization and it is also a Christian denominational church, started by founders who wanted to bring salvation to the poor, destitute, and hungry, added Jennifer Wiebe, social events and projects coordinator for the Salvation Army.
“All of our programs and services are provided without pushing religion, we’re accepting of everybody,” she said. “The thing about The Salvation Army is everybody has been helped in some way, so most people have some kind of personal connection. We’re always there in the community, always there to spread awareness for programs and do what we can do to support people.”
While the fundraising deadline looms, donations can still be made at kettle bells around the city, at the till at London Drugs stores, or online at salvationarmy.ca. The final fundraising count will be announced on its website next week.
@rebeccablissett
