Charities have been largely affected due to the global economic crisis that has affected Canada this year.

One such institution is the Barrie Bayside Mission Centre, which has suffered a sharp decline in donations from the community. With donations down, executive director of the centre Major Roy Randell is left with few options to answer the 33% rise in demand for food meals.

The problem now is that the yearly Salvation Army fundraiser, which kicked off a month ago, is still over $100,000 short of its goal of raising $400,000 – leading Major Randell to encourage community members to share what they can and lend support before the deadline.

Donations—whether cash or miscellaneous necessities—will be used to support the downtown mission, the men’s shelter. The local soup kitchen, which has churned out over 70,000 meals this year alone, will also receive a substantial amount of donations.

It’s not all bad news though. Volunteer numbers have climbed this year, with an increase of over 38 %. Of course, it goes without saying that the more volunteers, the better. And with Christmas happening next week, donations are expected to make a last-minute rush, so volunteers will definitely be needed that time.