The Salvation Army and police have launched investigations into allegations that a Sally Ann Christmas kettle volunteer stole some donated cash.
A woman who donated money at a 187 Street and Fraser Highway mall complained after she gave a kettle collector $5, and saw the elderly woman put it in her pocket.
Lauren Chan, spokesperson for the Salvation Army, said the organization is taking the situation very seriously and is working to determine exactly what happened.
Chan said people looking to donate to the Salvation Army should put the money directly into the locked kettle, "so the volunteer has no way of getting to that money."
"If someone who is making a donation wants to be sure of that, we always encourage people to put the money into that kettle."
Chan pointed out the organization has 300 kettles situated throughout the province and that the Salvation Army takes every possible step to make sure the donations are safe.
"We do train our volunteers, we do take every precaution we can to safeguard the money," Chan said. "
The investigations are ongoing.