St. Albert’s Salvation Army has all its personnel at the ready and is geared up for a busy Christmas season.
Back in June news surfaced that staffing problems had left the charity with only one person in its office, forcing it to cut back services. But the organization is fully staffed once again and is delivering all its usual programs, said senior pastor Jason Guy.
“We are rolling and good things are happening, especially as we head into the Christmas season,” Guy said. “We don’t want to see anybody go without, especially in that season.”
Guy came on board in July, replacing a husband and wife team who had left. Former long-time employee Marcia Berrisford returned in September to fill a vacancy for a family services director. Berrisford had previously worked for the organization in St. Albert for eight years but had left 18 months ago.
While the organization was struggling with staffing, its Tudor Glen thrift store had remained in operation but it was answering requests for food hampers and other services with referrals to the agency’s Edmonton headquarters or the St. Albert Food Bank. With Guy and Berrisford on board, all is back to normal.
“It’s nice to be back in the game. We’ve got this big, beautiful building and all these resources,” said head elder Cam Rennie. “It’s good to see the parking lot filling up and this building being used daily.”
The organization is launching its Coats for Kids campaign next week and is getting ready to ramp up its annual Christmas kettle campaign later in November.
Guy is on a one-year contract but said he’s interested in staying on in St. Albert over a longer term. The Sherwood Park resident said he’d like to bolster the church’s engagement with youth and seniors.
The organization is also looking forward to celebrating its 25th anniversary in St. Albert, which will come in 2011.
“We’ve got a lot of history in this city,” Rennie said. “That started off real basic and it’s evolved to what it is today. We want to be a force in the city.”
Having the Salvation Army back operating at capacity has eased the burden on the St. Albert Food Bank, said executive director Suzan Krecsy.
“I’m just so glad they’re back on board,” she said. “We‘ve got somebody that we can call and they can give us a hand.”
Communication has also improved, she said.
“When Jason came on board, he went around to every agency in town to introduce himself,” Krecsy said. “He’s been very open. Communication is awesome.”
