It was a few days before New Year’s Eve when Moose Jaw Express sales manager Wanda Hallborg took a call from a reader with an interesting inquiry.
Where was the Salvation Army Stocking Fund sitting at for a total, and how much was needed to top it off?
The annual fundraiser -- started over two decades ago by the Moose Jaw Times-Herald and picked up by the Moose Jaw Express when the local daily newspaper shut down -- was looking to bring in $5,000 for the local charity this year and was about $1,400 short of that goal.
The caller immediately said she could help, and would drop a cheque off in the near future.
On New Year’s Day, Clarice Palisch did exactly that.
The 82-year-old long-time Moose Jaw resident stopped by the Express office with a cheque for $1,400, ensuring the Stocking Fund will once again reach its goal in 2021
“I was just sitting and thinking I’m 82 and I’m lucky I can still drive and I’m in my own home and my family doesn’t really need any money,” Palisch said in explaining her donation. “II went through what I pay in my bills every month and all that and I really don’t need that money, but I bet the Salvation Army could really use it.”
The local charity has been hard at work throughout the holidays with their Kettle Campaign, and has a wide variety of ventures currently underway designed to help folks throughout the year.
The donation will most certainly help with those plans and left Lt. Lester Ward with the Salvation Army almost speechless.
“I'm always I'm always in awe, of the generosity of the people of Moose Jaw and surrounding area,” said Ward. “And to go right down to the last day of the stocking fund, to have this individual here in the city reach out, just to allow the goal to be reached? That’s unbelievable. Just unbelievable.”
For her part, Palisch wasn’t aware of the regular day-to-day work the charity performs, but was still more than happy to help.
“I know they’ve been around for a long time and I know they do a lot of good for people,” she said. “And when you’re looking at what they were trying to raise, that’s not that much money, especially if you can afford it… We’ve fared fairly well through our life, so I thought I should do something worthy with it. And I saw the goal wasn’t moving very fast, so I called down and it still needed $1,400 so I decided to do it.”
Seeing that kind of support is heartwarming in these difficult times, said Ward.
“The Salvation Army is the hands and feet of Jesus, we are here to meet human needs and support people, but we can’t do this on our own,” he said. “Financially, it's costly, and because of people in this community that have stepped up, once again, we're able to do what we do… We want the city and the people to know and take the credit, that this is because of them. Every day, we're so thankful here to be able to continue to do what we do and it's because of people in the community that allow us to do it.”
As one might expect, the Christmas season was once again a busy one for the Salvation Army -- from helping families in need celebrate the holidays through their myriad donations of toys and hampers to helping folks deal with the bitterly cold temperatures, the local charity has been hard at work.
“We’re probably over 300 children that received support during Christmas with toys and over 300 families that we provided assistance to over Christmas, to help them to meet their needs,” Ward said.
The amazing thing is the community support has gone even further than fundraisers -- Knight Lincoln Ford donated $10,000 to the Salvation Army before Christmas, as did another individual who wished to remain anonymous. And the wildly popular Moose Jaw Warriors Teddy Bear Toss brought in over 1,200 stuffed animals, toques and sets of mittens for distribution during the holidays.
And Moose Jaw apparently isn’t done yet.
“Donations are still trickling in, we still had donations come in yesterday from the mail-out envelopes,” Ward said. “Then the stocking funds has exceeded its goal, we had another really good year with the kettles, and the community has just delivered. They have demonstrated and shown their care for their neighbour, their care for their city, their friends, and we are so pleased, as the Salvation Army, to be able to journey with those folks and to be able to assist in supporting those families.
“This is our second Christmas in Moose Jaw, and I believe this Christmas was bigger and better than what it was last Christmas, with the support we had from everyone, and that’s amazing to see with everything that’s going on.”
For more information on the Salvation Army, be sure to visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheSalvationArmyInMooseJaw.
