Kelowna

The traditional red holiday kettles are going online.

The Kelowna Salvation Army is launching its first ever iKettle, allowing people to donate to the Kettle Campaign online.

Major Ron Cartmell says the online kettles won't replace the traditional red kettles.

“As we’ve become more and more dependent on plastic, fewer people are carrying around cash. We’ve taken the initiative to embrace this change by launching the very first iKettle in Kelowna,” said Major Cartmell.

He says iKettles were used last year by Salvation Army branches in Toronto and Calgary to great success.

“People can just go to the Salvation Army website and donate. A receipt is then e-mailed back to the donor within about 10 minutes.”

Cartmell says people can also sponsor an iKettle on their Facebook pages.

“A lot of people want to volunteer, but simply don't have the time. By hosting an iKettle on their Facebook page, they can help out by collecting donations from their friends and family. All donations collected by Kelowna residents through iKettles goes towards Kelowna and area programs.”

He says their goal is to raise $475,000 through the regular kettle campaign and $25,000 through the iKettles.

Link: Kelowna Salvation Army website