Thankful
We begin 2022 with a heart of gratitude. Thanks to your support we reached our community’s most vulnerable who endured the most difficult seasons of their lives in silent desperation. Because of you, opportunities were given to the hopeless, the grieving were comforted, and men, women, and families in crisis were rescued from danger.
It is only through your generosity that we can continue to be your hands and feet serving our communities, and continue meeting human need wherever and whenever it exists. With your continued support we can ensure another year of ‘Doing the Most Good,’ while sharing the abiding promise of hope, acceptance, and redemption.
Below are the words of gratitude that we received throughout the year that are a tribute to your dedication.
“Your organization does so much good for the community. We try to help every year. We used to live in Shreveport, LA. We know how great a need there is in Shreveport. Even though we moved to O’ Fallon, MO, we still want to help in our hometown.”—M. Taylor
100% of your gift goes to work right in your community—or the community of your choice—where we strive to do the most good!
And because every community is unique, we first assess the needs of each community in which we serve. We work to understand the obstacles, hardships, and challenges native to the area’s particular population. Next, we build local programs designed to offer immediate relief, short-term care, and long-term growth in the areas that will best benefit the community. Then, we offer the local programs to the local community, working to continually optimize their efficacy via spiritual, physical, and emotional service.
“…As a young teen…I loved hearing stories, especially from WWII vets, about how The Salvation Army was the group at the lines with the soldiers while other organizations were fading into the background. When my mom couldn’t afford shoes for us – my first pair of penny loafers were given to me by the Salvation Army…Truly – The Salvation Army is Doing the Most Good”—D. Cesario
The Salvation Army was at the frontlines in World Wars I and II, offering comfort and pastoral guidance. During World War I, The Salvation Army cooked doughnuts, often in battle helmets. Decades after the war ended, in 1938, The Salvation Army created National Doughnut Day to honor the female volunteers — or “doughnut lassies” — who served the troops.
“The Salvation Army is there to help those in need during storms, hard times and also have job programs to help people secure good skills and employment. I have seen them distribute meals in areas ravaged by Hurricanes day in and day out to anyone who needed a meal. Thank goodness for The Salvation Army and the good people who operate the organization.”—Anonymous
The Salvation Army began offering assistance to disaster survivors after a major hurricane hit Galveston, TX in September 1900, destroying the coastal city and killing thousands of people. Officers of The Salvation Army moved from across the country into the Galveston area to help feed and shelter the thousands of survivors.
Since then, The Salvation Army has responded to numerous natural disasters, transportation accidents, civil unrest situations, and terrorist attacks. The Salvation Army began dispensing food and drinks near Ground Zero in New York less than an hour after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. More than 4.5 million people were helped with meals, pastoral counseling, and social services from 40,000 volunteers, staff and officers, in The Salvation Army’s nine months of service there. And after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf area in 2005, The Salvation Army launched its largest disaster relief effort: 5.6 million meals were served and $382 million donated. More than 3 million people received assistance from The Salvation Army.
In any given year, The Salvation Army provides nearly 800,000 survivors with support, hope, and healing.
“…When my daughter and I were in a domestic violence shelter, The Salvation Army helped us get on our feet. They gave me a job, provided us with food, and helped us with bills. They also helped me during my first part of being saved. I became a Christian when I was in that shelter. They also sent my daughter to summer camp and gave my daughter school supplies”—Tammy L.
Every second, three people in the U.S. become a victim of domestic violence.
Because of your support, The Salvation Army can operate shelters specifically designed for women and children escaping domestic abuse. These centers put them on a path to independence and provide everything from health referrals, counseling, and transportation to GED certification programs, parenting classes, employment assistance, and permanent housing placement. We also offer children a nurturing environment in a therapeutic preschool program.
In addition, many children from low-income families rarely experience life outside their immediate neighborhood. That’s why The Salvation Army’s annual summer programs for kids are so important. Every year, thousands of kids of all ages get a fresh perspective as campers learn to swim, play sports, create music, make art, and scout. In addition, trained counselors help them navigate the complicated emotions and struggles often associated with their lives back home.
“We just recently went through Hurricane Ida. The Salvation Army was feeding every one of all races, rich or poor. They gave essentials like water, toilet paper, and other necessities to everyone regardless of skin color, rich or poor. Even now, after four months of the aftermath, they are still looking after people. They just gave a bunch of elderly people gift certificates to grocery stores…Yes, there are other wonderful organizations, but many of them come from out of town, so they will pick up and leave; The Salvation Army stays because they are right here in the community.”—Anonymous
Thanks to you, The Salvation Army has more than 7,600 centers of operation and is uniquely positioned to deliver disaster relief to an average of 800,000 people annually. Some effects of disasters are unseen—many survivors and first responders suffer emotional stress and trauma. The Salvation Army delivers the vital emotional and spiritual care they need. No matter what’s needed, The Salvation Army is often first on the scene and stays until the need is met.
“The Salvation Army has ALWAYS given back to communities and people in need, without regard to race, color, or creed. Race is not in their receiving or giving. What you give to them goes to those in need. Do your research of charities – they are at the top in terms of giving back and at the bottom in terms of what their leadership is paid.”—R. Edmonds
At The Salvation Army, we take great care in managing your contributions, so that every dollar we receive can do the most good for those in need in our community. Donors like you make it possible for us to serve more than 30 million Americans each year, many of whom have nowhere else to turn for help.
In a Forbes Magazine interview, the late management guru Peter Drucker called The Salvation Army “by far the most effective organization in the U.S. No one even comes close to it in respect to clarity of mission, ability to innovate, measurable results, dedication and putting money to maximum use.” One of the reasons we consistently receive high ratings from charity watchdog groups is that we keep our administrative costs to a minimum.
About 82 percent of every donation to The Salvation Army goes directly to program funding to help people who need it most. Also, every dollar we receive from our contributors helps us secure up to an additional three dollars worth of donated supplies and government grants. This means that your gift has the potential to quadruple in value.
” I put money in a Red Kettle recently and told the man attending that Salvation Army was my favorite charity. He told me he had stayed there and now has his own place. He turned his life around. Such great work you do to help so many.”—R. Neal
Because of your support, our doors are open every day—and night—of the year and provide over 10 million nights of lodging annually through our emergency housing facilities, homeless shelters, transitional living centers, group homes, and family shelters. In addition, we help combat long-term homelessness in America by serving homeless adults, veterans, and children with holistic physical, emotional, and spiritual support.
The local Salvation Army homeless shelters provide a warm, safe place for men, women, and—whenever possible—families to stay. In cities where we do not operate homeless shelters, we offer financial assistance to cover emergency overnight housing costs or refer those facing housing and food insecurity to partner programs with emergency shelter services.
“For generations, the SA has been there helping those in great need. It is an honor to lend a small hand to your great work.”—J. Blount
“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight, I’ll fight to the very end!” – William Booth, Salvation Army Founder.
For over 150 years, The Salvation Army’s ministry has been motivated by the love of God, and its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
When you give to The Salvation Army, you provide funding for programs that help share God’s love with those who need it most.
“Thank you for your efforts in helping those in need. About 25 years ago, I made a promise that I would never walk by a bell ringer without dropping something in the bucket, and I have never failed in doing so.”—J. Joachim
What started in 1891 as one 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, year after year. To the homeless, the red kettles represent safe shelter from the streets. To the hungry, they promise a warm meal. To those struggling with addiction and alcoholism, they mean the possibility of a new life free of the bondage of chemicals.
” My {school} class has saved coins all year and even donated their concession money to donate to Salvation Army. We also added money/change found on the ground.”—Thomas Jefferson Upper Elementary
Did you know that The Salvation Army’s high-quality after-school programs serve children and youth of all ages? We provide one-on-one assistance with homework and school assignments and the teaching and advancement of literacy and study skills.
Many of our facilities also include computer labs to help children with their homework and provide academic support to kids who otherwise have no access to computers.
