Salvation Army Today

Soup-Off Fundraiser

The Salvation Army of Lake and Sumter Counties is building a unique and effective relationship with residents of The Villages, “a collection of quaint retirement neighborhoods” in Central Florida where over 100,000 now reside.
 
“Friends of The Salvation Army” is one of some 3,000 interest groups within The Villages and has been continually growing in membership.
The group recently staged its first “Soup Off”, a major fund-raiser to assist distribution of The Salvation Army’s many food programs based out of Leesburg, Florida throughout the year.
 
Donations of soup from nine local restaurants, desserts, bread, Silent Auction items, pottery bowls, and much more greatly enhanced the popularity of the event with every ticket sold!
 
Guests chose samples from the nine soups, then cast their votes for the best ‘tasting soup’ with the winning restaurant receiving a “Golden Ladle” Award. With the success of this first fundraiser, Soup Off is likely to become an annual event.

Walmart and The Salvation Army Start Kettles Early

For more than 40 years, Walmart and The Salvation Army have partnered for good. The partnership has grown substantially in recent years and resulted in about $60 million of support for families in need around the holidays last year.
 
Walmart is going above and beyond again in 2021, with round up at Walmart.com, an early start for storefront red kettles on November 20, and the Walmart Angel Tree, available in Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs, and online at WalmartAngelTree.com.
 
At Walmart.com and the Walmart app, customers have the option to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the difference to The Salvation Army from November 4 to December 28. The giving option raised more than $5.4 million in its inaugural year of 2020.
 
Visit HopeMarchesOn.org to donate or learn more about how you can help The Salvation Army bring Christmas joy to families this year. Every donation helps make sure that hope marches on for hardworking individuals and families.
All gifts stay within the community in which they are given. If you need services or know of someone in need, please visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to find a location near you.

Sam’s Club Helps Hope March On

Sam’s Club announced a $50,000 donation to The Salvation Army during the recent kickoff of the wholesale club’s “Merry-ville” holiday experiences in Santa Clarita, California.
The funds will be distributed equally across five Salvation Army units to help local individuals and families with housing, utilities, Christmas presents and other needs to help them remain in their homes through the end of the year.
 
Walmart and Sam’s Club helped The Salvation Army raise nearly $60 million through online roundup, Angel Tree donations and storefront red kettles in 2020. The partnership has grown annually for more than 40 years and has become a significant reason why The Salvation Army can serve more than 30 million people each year.
 
Each donation helps The Salvation Army ensure that HOPE-MARCHES-ON for hardworking individuals and families who are struggling this holiday season.
 
All gifts remain in the community in which they are given. To get help or give help this holiday season, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org.

Red Kettle Season

For some, this sound may be what you think of when you hear about The Salvation Army.
 
What started in 1891 as a single pot to collect funds to feed a free Christmas dinner to San Francisco’s destitute and poverty-stricken community has grown into The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle campaign, one of the most impactful and iconic outreach initiatives in the world.
 
To people experiencing homelessness, the red kettles represent safe shelter, to the hungry, they promise a warm meal. Red kettles represent hope to the most vulnerable.
As communities across the United States begin their red kettle campaigns this holiday season, know that every donation helps HOPE-MARCH-ON for those in need.
When you donate to The Salvation Army, all gifts stay within the community in which they are given.
Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to learn more and offer your support!

Evangeline Booth Award to Kroger Family of Companies

The Kroger Family of Companies, America’s largest grocery retailer, has received The Salvation Army’s highest honor and award, on behalf of nearly half a million associates, for its philanthropic efforts to Feed the Human Spirit.
 
The Evangeline Booth Award is bestowed to individuals and organizations dedicated to doing the most good in communities across the country.
 
The Kroger Family of Companies is a long-standing partner of The Salvation Army, supporting the Red Kettle Campaign that invites bell ringers to collect donations outside thousands of stores nationwide.
Since 2005, the company’s generous associates and customers have donated more than 200 million dollars to The Salvation Army; providing services for millions of people annually from coast to coast.

50 Years in Bangladesh

The Salvation Army in Bangladesh recently celebrated 50 years of ministry!
More than 100 officers and cadets met in person to celebrate but, because of COVID-19 restrictions, larger numbers were not allowed to gather. This meant that the sharing of the meetings online was particularly important to reach as many people as possible.
 
The Salvation Army’s work in Bangladesh began after emergency responses to a cyclone in 1970 and a refugee crisis in 1971.
During the celebration, history was explored but attention was also given to the present situation and the future vision for The Salvation Army. Sharing via online video from London, the General and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle shared greetings and congratulations.
This was not the end of celebrations in Bangladesh. Gatherings for soldiers, friends and supporters of The Salvation Army will take place in Dhaka and South Western Districts later in November and plans are being put together for an event in 2022 that will involve other churches and organizations.

Chasing the American Dream

Families come from all over the world to the US in search of a better life. Refugees settling in America tend to need more assistance because, often, they’ve had little access to education and other supports.
The Salvation Army’s Pathway of Hope program is helping one of those families obtain the dream.
Mariam and her children are refugees from Sierra Leone. After almost two decades in a refugee camp in Nigeria, they received clearance to emigrate to the United States and settled near Buffalo.
While the American Dream was within reach, Mariam needed a lot of support. She never received a formal education and lacked basic literacy skills.
The Salvation Army Pathway of Hope Program helped her as She needed assistance on the phone and in writing to correspond with her landlord, utility companies, her children’s teachers, and to pursue and secure employment.
A caseworker also helped Mariam find an apartment and access additional social services which will help lift the family out of poverty moving forward.
To learn more about this program, visit salvationarmyusa.org

Planting Trees

Deforestation contributes to more and more carbon dioxide emissions building up in the atmosphere around the globe which we know is harmful to the environment. To help combat these effects, The Salvation Army in Pakistan has a new initiative, called “Green Pakistan”.
The development team created this initiative to plant trees at a number of Salvation Army churches, communities, Territorial Headquarters, and the local training college. Plants were donated by Awan Sports Industries through Christian Care Foundation. This initiative brings together the community, helps the environment, and adds even more beauty to the local area.
 
For more stories like these, visit WWW.SALVATIONARMYSOUNDCAST.ORG/SATODAY

Chikankata Mission

The Salvation Army established a mission in Zambia in 1945 at the invitation of the local headman, Charlie Chikankata. He had heard of the Salvation Army's work in Zimbabwe and offered a portion of his land if education and health services could be established for his people. In 1946, The Salvation Army settled among the Tonga people and opened a school, hospital, and a church to serve the whole needs of the community.
 
In October of this year, over 278 nurses and midwives graduated from The Salvation Army’s Chikankata College of Nursing in Zambia. This is the 70th Graduation ceremony and was officiated by The Salvation Army in Zambia’s Territorial Commander, Colonel Ian Swan and attended by Government officials and other invited guests.
 
These dynamic new registered nurses and midwives will meet needs and make a difference all throughout urban and rural communities in Zambia.

Buffalo’s Most Amazing Race

In Buffalo New York, the 2021 Buffalo’s Most Amazing Race raised close to $50,000 for The Salvation Army.
In this year’s race- the teams completed a mix of physical challenges that included dance routines and rock wall climbing, while other activities shared the history and work of The Salvation Army.
The local Buffalo Salvation Army Corps did their version of “The Amazing Race” to engage a younger audience and show them how they can help The Salvation Army. 
Recently, the local development team learned that the average age of a donor to the local Salvation Army is 84 years old. They stated that; “These are the people who used our services 50 or 60 years ago. The average 30–year–old millennial may not know much about us, but a day of activities like this engages that age group and challenges them to learn about the mission.”
 
To learn more about the work The Salvation Army does in your community, visit SALVATIONARMYUSA.ORG.