Holiday Scrooges can no longer use not carrying cash as an excuse to avoid donating to the Salvation Army’s Kettle Campaign.
The iconic fundraiser now accepts debit and credit cards, meaning volunteers won’t have to exclusively collect buckets of pocket change to reach Edmonton’s $550,000 target by Dec. 23.
Spokesperson Al Hoeft said volunteers regularly encounter people who don’t carry cash, so the point of sale machines will make it easier to reach that target.
“They have people who often come and would like to make donations but don’t always have cash in their pockets,” he said.
Salvation Army volunteer Gordon Riggs collected donations in Edmonton’s City Centre Mall on Monday. (Anna McMillan/CBC)
“A lot of that has to do with simply acknowledging the fact that we live in a more and more cashless society,” he said.
“A lot of our advisory boards and our supporters in the community have said ‘you know, we really need to kind of get with the program and get into the modern age.'”
So far, plenty of donations been made with the tap or swipe of a card, Hoeft said.
Long-time volunteer Gordon Riggs collected donations at City Centre Mall on Monday afternoon. He said lots of people still carry change, but the new machines cater to those who don’t.
“[The machines] would just sort of open up … the people maybe that don’t carry change with them,” he said.
Funds raised go toward local Salvation Army programs, which support vulnerable people in Edmonton.