Between the rent on her little, one-bedroom apartment, groceries and her painful, disabling arthritis, Peggy Grahn finds it hard to move at times.
But there is one thing for which Grahn always stands up. It’s her shift, ringing the bells for the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign.
“I’m very stubborn sometimes,” said the Victoria woman. “In my own mind, I’m a tiger. Sometimes you have to be like that, don’t you.”
Grahn is one of the people collecting donations at 40 locations in Victoria — 2,000 across Canada — during the annual Christmas Kettle Drive. It’s the biggest fundraising event for the Salvation Army.
For Grahn, the Kettle Drive is about gratitude. It’s almost like a repayment for the open-hearted generosity she has received from the Salvation Army, whether it’s been the occasional food hamper or the annual clothing hamper.
“Every time I have asked them [the Salvation Army] they have helped,” said Grahn. “They have never turned me down.”
Now in her late 50s, Grahn was born in Williams Lake and grew up in Dawson City, Yukon, and Edmonton. She’s mother to a grown son and daughter but lives alone. Between the rent and groceries, little is left over from about $900 she gets monthly from a disability pension.
She worked, mostly as a cleaner, until about 15 years ago when the arthritis in her legs became too painful. Hoping for some relief in a warmer climate, she moved to Victoria.
She mostly attends church services at Glad Tidings Church, but Grahn likes to visit other churches in Victoria for private prayer, especially Christ Church Cathedral, which she likes to think of as an old-style castle.
“I went in there the other day to pray and I said to myself, ‘I’m going into the castle to talk to my king,’ ” she said, chuckling.
It was a few years ago that Grahn turned to the Salvation Army for help for the first time. She is not a member of the Salvation Army Church, but she has become a strong believer in what the organization works to achieve. It’s why she rings the bells.
Sipili Molia, Victoria Salvation Army community relations co-ordinator, said it’s been tough raising money recently. Last year, the campaign aimed for $250,000 but raised only $175,000. This year, the organization is aiming for $225,000.
Molia said the Salvation Army is all about the mission to help people in need and to provide a physical mission-style shelter for people looking for a bed. And it can be anyone who needs help.
“It really doesn’t take much for you to end up in our offices,” said Molia. “You lose a job, you don’t have any support, your husband gets injured and, all of a sudden, you can’t pay the bills. Sometimes, it’s a couple of bad choices and sometimes it’s just a string of bad luck,” said the lifelong Salvationist.
The Salvation Army, with its four churches in Greater Victoria, offers counselling, employment advice and even job skills training, such as computer basics.
“It’s all there to help set you back on your feet,” he said. “Our goal is to bring hope and dignity to people.”
How to donate:
It's quick and easy to donate online.
Just go to:
timescolonist.com/christmasfund
By phone: 250-995-4438
By mail or in person:
2621 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C.
V8T 4M2
Make cheques payable to "Times Colonist Christms Fund"