Salvation Army Responds the World Over

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we hear the bell ringers and see the red buckets for coins. They are common and often until we need their services they are overlooked. They are the Salvation Army and they make a difference for many people coast to coast.

The Salvation Army is best known during the holidays but their service is year round. Helping families with basic needs continues year round and this is a great reason for donations to do the same.

This is an organization that gives to families as well as singles to fill a variety of needs from food and clothing to emergency situations. They help people with addictions and other issues as needed.

Often donations to the Salvation Army can be in the form of helping your household save money also - shopping at their thrift stores. When you're purging unused but useful items consider donating them to the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army works year round from tsunami relief in Samoa to here at home in the USA. Headquartered in London they work in 118 countries around the world as part of a Christian outreach mission work.

Here in the USA there is the online giving tree as well as local ones. They have programs for missing persons, disaster relief, camps, prisoner or drug and alcohol rehab and work tirelessly to fight human trafficking.

It is often other organizations that get and take credit for disaster relief but as far back as 1900 in the Galveston Hurricane the Salvation Army has responded. They fed over 30,000 and sheltered 9,000 after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. They were the first agency on the scene at Ground Zero after the 9/11 Terrorist attacks where they served 3.2 million meals, provided assistance and logged over a million volunteer hours as well as $90 million in assistance.

Additionally in 2004 after an Indian Ocean quake that devastated Eastern Asia they responded to complete 500 homes with 2,200 the target. A quarter million people were assisted and that paled in comparison to the 3.3 million assisted with 5.6 million meals after Hurricane Katrina at home.

From the "small" disasters such as the Minnesota bridge collapse and house fires to devastating regional fires they respond.

Often we don't see the many ways our dollars make a difference, and we often don't see the organizations that make a difference for the sake of touching lives rather than publicity. Give generously to the Salvation Army. You never know when it is you that will need help.