PORTLAND Salvation Army and Portland Aluminium employees teamed up on Monday to assist the less fortunate and celebrate an anniversary.

November has marked 70 years since Alcoa Foundation was founded as a philanthropic of Alcoa, and since 2016 it has invested well over $35 million into education and environmental protection.

To celebrate, the foundation gave out more than a dozen $10,000 grants to non-for-profit partners in the community, one such being Portland Salvation Army, but they didn’t stop there.

About 17 employees of Portland Aluminium volunteered to help the Salvation Army put 150 Christmas Cheer hampers together for a day.

Portland Salvation Army's Kaitlyn Keppels-Baker said the Christmas Cheer program is a Salvation Army run program held every year to assist community members and families who are doing it tough, and to offer some form of support over the holidays.

“This year we currently have toys going to 175 children and have food hampers going to 150 vulnerable families,” she said.

“We have found one of the greatest needs within the community currently is the inability to cover the general costs of living.

‘These rising costs have had a profound domino effect on individuals' financial capacity and some families are having to make tough budget cuts.”

The hampers were ultimately filled with donations from the community, and organisations, Portland District Health, Kmart and Woolworths.

Applicants are still being received for these hampers.

Portland Aluminium senior community relations and communications specialist Anna Impey thanked The Salvation Army for the work they do to support people in need.