The Salvation Army: Mission Of The Salvation Army

Teresa Scott
Intro to Diversity
Instructor Andy Tigert
December 7, 2015

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army got its start in 1852, when William Booth began ministering to the lost multitudes of London. He walked the streets preaching to “the poor, homeless, hungry, and destitute (salvation).” It was not until 1878 that the name “Salvation Army” was established. Booth came up with the name, inspired from the title on an annual report. They used military ranking to establish authority among the officers. In 1879, Lieutenant Eliza Shirley brought the Salvation Army to the United States. It has since spread, bringing assistance to the needy across the world.
The mission statement of the Salvation Army gives an overview of who they are and
More than 30 million people received assistance from the Salvation Army in the United States last year.
It was William Booths mission to bring the love of Christ to those less fortunate, by providing assistance with their basic needs. You can participate many ways in the mission of the Salvation Army. Simply go to http://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/ and follow links. You can donate time, money or goods. You can give a onetime gift or even become a monthly supporter if you are of a mind. At Christmas time, you see bell ringers all over every city. The money that they receive in their red collection pots, help to assist people in the community throughout the year. There are also coat drives and toy drives every year, so that children can receive gifts on Christmas
I knew that they collect and spread resources throughout the community. What I did not know was that they provide opportunity for people to complete community service as part of a sentencing. They do not just give them work to do but counsel and advocate for them as well. One of the people that I worked with when I volunteered was convicted for drug abuse. He had to do community service to meet his sentencing requirements. He also had to do drug counseling. The Major at the Salvation Army works with these people to help them get off drugs and become a productive member of society. I also worked with a few young men who were completing high school through an alternative school program. Then there was Major Carol and I working that day. It was nice to see such a diverse group of people working together to benefit the less fortunate in our community. It was our job to sort and organize food for the Christmas Baskets and the food pantry. They have close to 300 families on their list this year from Marinette and Menominee who will be receiving baskets this year. It is amazing that by volunteering 3 hours one Saturday morning; I will have affected the lives of that many people on Christmas this year. The volunteer assignment experience relates to the theme of our course by showing us that there are less fortunate people in our community and it is the responsibility of everyone in the community to