TOUGH times brought out the best in Portland this year, with the city’s Salvation Army Corps receiving the most money donated in a decade, through June’s Red Shield Appeal.

Salvos Captain Peter Stamp said they raised just over $10,000 through tin rattling in front of supermarkets, events, fundraising efforts from community groups and businesses, and some significant sums donated by generous individuals.

“Our target was around $8,000 and then we had had a couple of really generous donations from some of our supporters right at the end, which is just amazing,” Mr Stamp said.

“Most of the charities, nonprofits and things trying to raise money are really struggling post COVID in how to engage people to donate without people feeling like they're being bombarded or pressured into giving.

“So with that in mind especially then to get to $10,000 is really amazing for us.”

Money donated in Portland will stay in the district, mostly split between ‘Captain Sal’ their regional support bus which visits other towns in the region, and Portland based community support and emergency relief services.

The Portland Salvos supported 228 households last financial year, and the Portland team of 4 part-time staff currently support 36 local households.

At the moment around 15 people walk through the doors each day, and a lot of them have not been receiving the help of the Salvos until recently.

“I was doing a lot of the appointments and things during COVID, and the people that are coming in now, I don’t really recognise them.

“There’s a few that were accessing services pre-COVID, but it’s just a whole new group of people that are coming through.”

In June, Mr Stamp told the Observer that he had serious concerns about how people with low incomes would be able to handle the rapidly rising cost of bills, groceries and rent.

With tax time lump sum payments going into accounts in the last few weeks, Mr Stamp said they have had a slight dip in demand for the beginning of August, but expects it to ramp back up as that money begins to dry up again.

What gives Mr Stamp hope, he said, is growing support from the public to help those in need.
“It will probably be over the next couple of weeks that people start coming back again,” he said.

“But we have had a lot of new community support, there's a lot of community groups that have started donating more materials.”

That includes donations of preserved food, clothes and money from the public and community, along with daily fresh food donations from ALDI supermarket.

While the donations are useful and appreciated, Mr Stamp said cash allows the Salvos to get support to people in the most direct and immediate way.

“If we’re overwhelmed or overstocked in one space, then we don't have the resources for the others, o it just gives us the flexibility to ensure that we're assisting people where they need it right now,” he said.