“Doing the most good,” is the Salvation Army’s mission statement.
The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 by William Booth. Booth believed that as a Christian, he could do more for people.
The Salvation Army is run through the Christian community. The foundation helps people in need with the money they raise. They help those in poverty. They help families who are going hungry and that are just trying to get by. They have millions of volunteers year-round wanting to help.
Around the holidays, people tend to see individuals standing outside, ringing a bell and standing next to a red bucket. There is a sign above the bucket that says Salvation Army. Some who see it tend to walk over and throw money inside.
Some may wonder where the money people donate and the Salvation Army raises goes.
The money is going to charity that helps many different organizations inside of the largest charity itself. Millions of people every year volunteer at malls, grocery stores and other places to stand next to buckets to collect donations for those in need.
“Standing here is something that I do every year and I love seeing how much the money gives to everyone,” a Salvation Army volunteer who wished to remain anonymous said. “Giving back to those who really need it helps me because the Salvation Army has always been there for me when I needed help with my family. Giving back to the community is something that everyone can do; trust me, there is nothing like that feeling.”
People will also notice around the holidays that most malls will have a Christmas tree somewhere inside with a lot of name tags hung on it like ornaments.
They call it the Angel Tree Program.
When picking up one of those name tags off of the tree, a person is picking a child off of the tree. On the tag it gives a gender, their age and the clothes that they need with their size. It also has a toy or something bigger on the side that they might want.
“This was my first year picking a child off the tree and I loved it! I picked a little girl off of the tree and I bought her a toy that was on her Christmas list,” freshman Jackie Bechtold said. “Doing this for a child made me feel so good inside knowing that they were going to have something to play with and keep them company. It is definately something that I am going to do over the years as much as I can.”
The Salvation Army has so many things that they do for the community, and they are always looking for more volunteers.
Visit the Salvation Army website to learn more.
