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The kettles of the Salvation Army were purchased by Manitoba liquor stores.
The Winnipeg-based Winnipeg Prairie Division has discovered in recent weeks that it would no longer be welcome in stores operated by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. In the last ten years, the local branch had been allowed to send a volunteer to various stores to collect monetary donations for its Christmas Kettle campaign.
"We received the answer that they had a change this year, and that we would not be able to have the kettles populated (by volunteers) in the shops. they have a policy that does not allow it and we have been an exception to this rule for a few years and now they are applying this rule to everyone, "Salvation Army Major Rob Kerr said in an interview on Thursday. telephone.
The state corporation "is working on corporate guidelines" regarding solicitation by charitable groups in its stores and "will not allow any exceptions" at the moment, said Susan Harrison, agent of communication from MLL, in a statement.
"Over the years, some customers have complained that they generally do not like being asked to donate to Liquor Marts, so we have eliminated in-person customer requests and collections." funds in-store, "Harrison said.
"To clarify things: the complaints did not concern a single charity, but rather general complaints about the solicitation of a donation in our stores."
The ban is a blow to the annual Christmas Kettle campaign, said Kerr, with about 10% of his donations collected from Liquor Mart stores.
"We understand and respect MLL's decision, and we appreciate the support they have given us over the years, and we are trying to find a way to manage that," Kerr said. "At the Manitoba scale, we collected about $ 60,000 at MLL stores last year at Christmas, so we are concerned about how we invent that."
Kerr said the kettle campaign was generally held in about six Winnipeg stores, as well as in liquor stores in Neepawa, Thompson, Brandon and Portage la Prairie.
During the 2017 Christmas season, the program raised approximately $ 530,000 across the province. These funds are used to fund community programs such as children's summer camps, after school programs, food banks and programs for seniors, Kerr said.
Harrison said the MLL policy aims to create a level playing field for all charities.
"Each year Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is proud to support more than 350 charities, non-profit and community organizations," she said in an e-mail. "At the present time, no program authorizes other groups to obtain the same access as the Salvation Army to our clients for fundraising purposes."
However, in December, the Salvation Army was selected as a beneficiary of the MLL's box program, which is unmanned donation boxes at Liquor Mart's store counters.
"The piggy bank program is an initiative with an application process in place that gives all charities the same opportunity to apply to be included in the program," said Harrison. "As for next season, we are reviewing all our fundraising requests from external organizations."
Kerr said the Christmas Kettle campaign was always welcome at department stores such as Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys, Walmart and Canadian Tire. "We hope that our supporters and donors will find us wherever we are and will continue to support us as they have done in the past."
The goal of the fundraising campaign is $ 370,000 in Manitoba and $ 21 million nationwide.
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