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Hopedale Hearing Clinic In Hopedale Mall, next to the CIBC 1515 Rebecca Street, Unit 38, Oakville 905-827-7333 BEST HEARING AT BEST PRICES 60 DAY GUARANTEE WARRANTY $295HEARING AID SPECIAL 3 W ednesday , January 5, 2011 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Christmas and local residents were good to the Salvation Army of Oakville this holiday season. Unlike the previous year when the local charity was not even at the halfway point of its annual kettle campaign goal just a week before Christmas, this year, the Salvation Army not only reached, but exceeded its target. We had a very successful campaign, and with the support of volunteers and donors, we surpassed our goal of $115,000 with a grand total of $129,001.57, said Aisha Chaney, com- munity and family services co-ordinator for the Salvation Army-Oakville. This allows us to be confident that during 2011 we will be able to assist those that come to us at a cri- sis point in their lives, and continue to offer and grow our programs, said Chaney. Its been a close run the past couple of years, but the Salvation Army in Oakville had high hopes this season and rightly so. Its Kettle Campaign kicked off as the Christmas tree was lit in downtown Oakville. It continued through Dec. 24. Major Dan Broome, who is co-pastor at the Oakville church with his wife, Major Wendy Broome, recalled recent kettle campaigns as the 2010 program began. A couple of years ago we wanted to raise $100,000 and just got it. Last year, we sur- passed it, said Broome, recalling it required a big push at the end as donations rolled in slow- ly. The funds raised not only support the Salvation Armys Christmas Assistance Program, but directly fund the programs it operates year-round in Oakville. The Salvation Army assists about 150 fami- lies throughout the year. The numbers climb at Christmas for numerous reasons, said Chaney. Last Christmas, the program assisted 747 families that represented 1,233 adults and 2,424 children. People must register to benefit from the Christmas program and show they are not receiving assistance from any other agency. The program includes visits at the toy depot and food vouchers in both instances, the people are provided the choice of provid- ing the gifts and food they wish for their fam- ily. Three additional kettle locations were added this year to bring the number to 12 Oakville Place, upper and lower levels; Hopedale Mall, Walmart, Superstore, Fortinos, Bronte Village Mall Sobeys and five LCBOs (Dorval Crossing, downtown Oakville, Hopedale Mall, Oak Walk Drive and Cornwall Road). Volunteers put in three-hour shifts on the kettles enabling local students to earn com- munity service hours, church groups, service clubs, families, businesses and others, the chance to help others. In launching the 2010 Kettle Campaign, the national Salvation Army which also met and exceeded its $18 million campaign target also used Google to allow donors to fill local kettles by visiting www.FilltheKettle.com. So this year, the Salvation Army Christmas kettles appeared on street corners across Canada including Oakville and on Google Maps, allowing donors to make a secure online donation directly to individual kettles in their community. Still, Chaney credited volunteers who took time to supervise kettle locations as key to the local Salvation Army meeting its goal. Approximately three million Canadians, or one in 11 people, live in poverty making access to everyday needs like food, clothing and shel- ter difficult. For more information, visit www.salvation- army.ca. Oakville Salvation Army kettles overflowed with donations MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER EARLY DONATION: Rebecca Psiuk helped kick off the Salvation Armys kettle campaign dur- ing the downtown Oakville tree lighting ceremony in mid-November. FOR INVESTORS OVER AGE 50 WHO WANT TO AVOID COSTLY TAX MISTAKES To reserve your seats email us at info@peterwatsoninvestments.com or call us at (905) 842-2100 Ext: 6 (24 hours) THURS Jan 27 10 am, 2 pm, 7 pm SAT Jan 29 10 am THURS 0 a DATES OLIVER AND BONACINI RESTAURANT Oakville Place (Trafalgar & QEW) Seats are FREE but limited OLIVER AND BON LOCATION Tax Savings Strategies RRSP, RRIF, TFSA Peter Watson MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI