Despite a winter storm, the Salvation Army of Chatham-Kent still managed to hit the fundraising goal for its Christmas campaign.
In a post on social media, the organization said it just surpassed the $500,000 goal, raising $500,284.32.
The group estimates it lost out on approximately $10,000 because the red kettles were pulled from local stores on December 23 and 24 because of the weather.
"The safety of our employees and volunteers came first and we are grateful for the funds we did receive," read the post.
$354,897.17 in donations came in through the mail or were dropped off. $145,387.15 came from the red kettles in stores, and $15,855 of that was received from the TipTap devices at the kettles that allow people to donate by tapping their debit or credit card.
Most of the money raised goes to buy toys and feed people in need at Christmas, while the rest goes towards other programs run by the Salvation Army throughout the year.