Super Bowl XLV Scores Big for Those in Need
Super Bowl Sunday is coming.
Yes, it’s a great event, but for more reasons than you think. There’s some awesome behind-the-game events going down related to The Salvation Army that we think will help you appreciate the championship even more.
Charlotte Jones Anderson, the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, found ways to increase revenue and cut costs for the team. Photo courtesy of Star-Telegram/Paul Moseley
First, meet the woman behind this year’s Super Bowl, Charlotte Jones Anderson. She serves as Executive Vice President of Brand Management for the Dallas Cowboys, and she led the effort to bring Super Bowl XLV to Cowboys Stadium. Not only does this impressive executive have a hand in nearly every effort related to the Cowboys, she’s the new National Advisory Board Chair of The Salvation Army. Learn more about this leading lady and her football prowess at the Star-Telegram.
Volunteer Leigh-Ann Aguirre of Arlington asks for help from eighth grader Kevin Wallican (right) of Irving during the NFL’s Super Kids-Super Sharing event at Salvation Army Community Center in Arlington, TX. (Photo: Kye R. Lee/Dallas News Staff Photographer)
This year’s Super Bowl has been dubbed the greenest championship on record. In addition to many other environment initiatives, all leftover, usable material from the game will be donated to non-profits. The Salvation Army will head the sorting and distribution of recovered material.
Plus, students from across North Texas participated in the Super Bowl event “Super Kids-Super Sharing” program at our Community Center in Arlington, TX. They collected a record of nearly 30,000 items such as used books, school supplies, and clothes for children in need.
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That same community center in Arlington will soon officially become an NFL Youth Education Town (YET), which serve as legacies in the host cities of each Super Bowl. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the NFL have each donated $1 million to build the facility, which will be the first of its kind to be owned and operated by The Salvation Army. Through the YET center we’ll serve homeless and at-risk youth in North Texas with after school programs, fitness classes, computer labs, and more. Read more about this incredible project at The Dallas Morning News.
Did you know all of that great work went on with the planning of the Super Bowl? Makes you realize that the game is about much more than just an entertaining afternoon of sports!
Calling All GleeKs
Are you a GleeK- a devoted fan of the hit TV show GLEE?
Apparently we’ve got some Salvation Army Kroc employees who are vying for the title of #1 GleeK.
Whether or not you’ve seen the show, you’ll get a kick out this homemade video from The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho:
Great News for Our Residential Facilities
Salvation Army residential shelters just got some great news to start off the New Year.
Stearns & Foster (owned by Sealy) announced it’s donating $1 million worth of new mattresses to our facilities across the country. The bedding manufacturer teamed up with retailers during the holidays to offer $100 in donations per mattress set sold, and, to our excitement, they reached the maximum amount of donations.
Stearns & Foster’s generous gift will fulfill a basic need for men, women, and children who need a safe place to stay and comfortable night’s sleep at The Salvation Army.
We have shelter programs operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Last year we provided more than 10 million lodgings to Americans in need.
We can’t wait to get these mattresses out to our communities and see the impact a good night’s sleep will have on the people we serve every day! Thank you to Stearns & Foster and participating retailers for your generous support!
The Most Important Text Message You can Send
Recent studies show teens send and receive on average almost 3,340 text messages per month! Older cell phone users aren’t quite as active, but even those in their 50’s still average several hundred. To state the obvious – that’s a lot.
Imagine if we used even a small portion of all the text messages we send to make a lasting impact on others.
With The Salvation Army’s Text to Give campaign, we can.
Just text “GIVE” to 85944 to donate $10, and you will help provide a meal for a hungry family, a place to sleep for the homeless, job training skills for an out of work individual, or other life-changing opportunities for those in need.
That’s a text message that says a lot.
Wildfires Blazing Across Boulder, Colorado
Video courtesy of Fox News
Wildfires that broke out Monday in Boulder, Colorado’s Fourmile Canyon continue to blaze, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes and leaving 3,500 acres of land charred. About 100 fire fighters were on the scene yesterday battling the flames. The cause of the fire is unknown, and high winds have made it difficult to tame.
The Salvation Army has been called on to help serve first responders who are working to contain the disaster. Those first responders include fire fighters, law enforcement, Emergency Medical Technicians and the command and control staff that is coordinating the fire efforts at the command center. By providing food, drinks and emotional support, The Salvation Army provides much needed nourishment as these crews work around the clock.
The Salvation Army served more than 450 dinners last night to emergency personnel and 300 hearty breakfasts including omelets, hash browns, sausage patty, coffee, juice and fruit were served early this morning.
First responders will also be provided lunch and dinner today by The Salvation Army. The mobile kitchen and cold truck will remain on site as long as necessary to support this effort.
We certainly hope that the fires will be contained quickly so that more homes and buildings are not claimed by the blaze. Thankfully, there have been no reported fatalities as a result of the fire.
If you’d like to support The Salvation Army’s fire relief efforts, visit imsalvationarmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and earmark the donation for Emergency Disaster Services.
A/C “Angel” Responds in Army’s Moment of Need
Speaking of beating the heat…
While The Salvation Army has been working hard to help others find relief from the summer sizzle, even we needed help recently with battling the high temperatures, and we were amazed by the generous aid we received in response!
When the air conditioning units in one of our Salvation Army homeless shelters in Huntsville, Alabama quit working (1 was completely shut down and the few others were only functioning at 30% capacity), the temperature inside the building reached into the 90’s, while outdoors registered above 100 degrees with the heat index. The heat was overwhelming for the shelter’s 60+ clients.
When heating & air business owner Thomas Ridgeway and his wife read a local news story about the shelter’s hardship, the Ridgeways didn’t hesitate to help. In fact, they agreed to postpone their anniversary dinner that evening, and at 11:00pm Thomas was knocking on the shelter door ready to get to work.
Vicki Thomas, director of shelter services, told me Thomas worked til 1:00am that night, and after working full days at his job, he returned to the shelter the next 3 days, arriving late in the night and each time working long past midnight. He repaired compressor motors, fan belts and leaking freon lines. Now, the air conditioners are fixed and they’re running as good as new! After all his hard work and sleepless nights, Thomas didn’t charge the shelter for his services.
Vicki recounted Thomas explaining his generosity as an overflow of the generosity he himself has received. He said the Lord has blessed him and his wife and he wants to in turn bless others, which he certainly did. Vicki called Thomas her “angel.”
Thank you to the Ridgeways for their kind service in our time of need, which enables The Salvation Army to serve others in need!
To read an account of the story covered by The Huntsville Times, click here.
National Hurricane Preparedness Week
May 23 – May 29 has been designated National Hurricane Preparedness Week in anticipation of the 2010 hurricane season that begins June 1. For now, forecasters predict a more active storm season compared to last year’s generally mild one, but being informed and prepared can help diminish the damaging effects of hurricanes.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has set up a helpful page online about hurricane hazards, preparedness information, and practical ways to plan ahead. Click here or visit http://www.nhc.noaa.gov to learn more. Plus, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a fun page for kids with lots of hurricane background information so that they can be knowledgeable and prepared as well.
And you have probably seen in the news or even been served by The Salvation Army as we provide needed relief following hurricanes and other disasters. In fact, The Salvation Army’s first major disaster response effort in the United States followed the devastating hurricane that destroyed Galveston, TX in 1900, so we have a long history of disaster relief! Our goal is to meet human need by providing material, physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort to survivors and first responders, which could come in the form of a hot meal, a temporary shelter, financial assistance, a shoulder to lean on, and many other things.
Hopefully the referenced links will be helpful as you prepare for hurricane season. We’ll keep you updated on important information and our efforts this season. Be sure to visit our website at www.salvationarmyusa.org, as well as our national Facebook and Twitter pages!
Cots for Haiti
The State of New Jersey, Department of Human Services, and Department of Homeland Security are providing in a tremendous way for Haiti by donating to The Salvation Army thousands of cots for earthquake survivors.
It would take The Salvation Army 3 months to be able to purchase the necessary amount of cots, but today New Jersey, with the approval of its partners, will provide The Salvation Army with 8,000 cots purchased from the Grainger Company. They will be sent to Florida via truck and then transported to Haiti. A backup order has already been made by The Salvation Army for a later date.
These cots, though simple items, will meet a significant need for the displaced population. Tens of thousands of individuals are living in tent cities, making for crowded and unsanitary conditions. The need for cots extends beyond just a place to sleep – parents sometimes spend the night sitting up to hold their children off the ground and safe from the elements. The rainy season has also begun, making conditions worse and threatening lives. These donors’ generosity will provide much needed relief for many.
Salvation Army Aids Chile’s Fishing Communities
The Salvation Army in Chile is focusing their tsunami relief response mainly on the communities of Dichato and Caleta Tumbes. Many locals here fled to high ground and watched as the tsunami destroyed their homes, possessions and livelihoods, and in some instances took the lives of their loved ones.
One woman lost her 92-year-old father who decided to stay in their house after trusting his son, a local fisherman, that the sea well would not reach the house. On any other night that would have been true – but not on this occasion.
Another fisherman explained that he didn’t think about the boat he left behind as he and his family fled, and now he doesn’t know how he’ll be able to afford to pay for a new one. His family is currently living with many others in tents and makeshift shelters in woods on high ground inland from their homes.
The tsunami destroyed the communities’ fishing fleets, and this time of year is the most important for sardine fishermen. The season lasts only three months, and many earn almost their entire annual income during this short period.
Salvation Army officers and volunteers have been working selflessly in these coastal communities to provide food, water and clothes, helping to clear and clean properties that are still standing, and offering spiritual support. In one camp volunteers are running a children’s club to try and assist in their recovery.
The secretary of the fishermen’s cooperative in Dichato said: ‘The young men may be able to retrain to do something else but many of us are too old. All we know is fishing – it is our livelihood, it is our life.’
In addition to providing food, water, clothes, and spiritual support, The Salvation Army in Chile is considering raising donations for the purpose of replacing the boats that were swept away.
The secretary of the fishermen’s cooperative in Caleta Tumbes thanked The Salvation Army for all it was doing in the community and appealed for it to continue to give assistance.
If you would like to support The Salvation Army’s ongoing relief efforts in Chile, please visit our online donation page.
Strong Arms Around Chile
One month following the destructive magnitude 8.8 earthquake and tsunami that struck Chile, The Salvation Army continues distributing help throughout the country. More than 15,000 people have been assisted and 14,000 rations of food provided to individuals and families. Some 350 volunteers have given their help.
A campaign called ‘Strong Arms Around Chile’ has been set up to help collect donations and goods that can be delivered to the neediest Chileans.
In the area around the capital, Santiago, coffee, hot meals and other services continue to be offered.
The south of the country, particularly coastal regions, was most affected by the disaster and this area is where The Salvation Army is focusing its efforts.
Four hundred baskets with basic necessities have been given out in Caleta Tumbes, which was affected by both the quake and tsunami. Salvation Army workers are helping to clear debris in this area. The Salvation Army is also distributing family baskets with basic necessities such as food, water, hygiene products, and clothes to families who are sleeping outdoors since they no longer have homes.
In Concepción, around the epicentre of the earthquake, family baskets were distributed at a camp in the centre of the city.
In nearby Hualpén, a well on the grounds of Hualpencillo Corps (church) is providing water to the neighbourhood.
The Salvation Army’s Central Division in Chile sent 20 tons of food, clothing and water to the cities of Concepción and Hualpén, including some goods purchased with funds received from overseas.
The supplies were organized in a reception centre at Concepción Corps. The corps officers went to the affected zones to see where the aid was most needed and the community of Dichato was identified. Unfortunately, because of contamination, the military was not allowing people into the community.
Eventually a Salvation Army team was allowed to visit the New Dawn camp in Dichato, which is made up of 180 families – approximately 850 people. The team also visited Villa los Sauces, which has a number of temporary settlements, and the area of Coliumo, where many people are living in small makeshift camps along the side of the road.
In each of these places goods were given out, including food, water and some tents. Three volunteers, rotating every few days, are living in a tent in the New Dawn camp and there are plans to set up a community kitchen. Salvationists and volunteers have helped clear debris and have lifted people’s spirits with times of worship.
In an emergency services coordination meeting, it was decided that Concepción Corps would take responsibility for people in Dichato, Coliumo, Lota, Coronel and Hualqui. The corps at Hualpén will visit and document the communities of Las Salinas, Lenga, Talcahuano and Caleta Tumbes. Some of these areas are dealing with devastation from both the earthquake and the tsunami.
Major Raelton Gibbs (International Emergency Services) is now in Chile to assist and advise the local Salvation Army teams.
The Salvation Army has been shown great appreciation by those receiving help. Many are simply happy still to be alive. The Chilean Salvation Army continues to work and aid those in need by providing not only material necessities but also spiritual comfort.
To help support The Salvation Army’s ongoing relief efforts in Chile, visit our online donations page.
