Q&A: Salvation Army adapting to serve people in need
Unmet needs are cascading as the pandemic brings them to the surface, says Major Marc Johnson, commander of The Salvation Army’s Indiana division.
Unmet needs are cascading as the pandemic brings them to the surface, says Major Marc Johnson, commander of The Salvation Army’s Indiana division.
The money is meant to help The Salvation Army respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to help pay for its overall operations into the future.
The Salvation Army of Central Indiana, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church.
As of Wednesday, the Salvation Army’s Indiana Division had reached just 51 percent of its $3.2 million goal for its annual Tree of Lights campaign.
The bell ringers and their red kettles have disappeared for another year, but Salvation Army of Indiana still is nearly $500,000 short of its holiday fundraising goal—putting programs in jeopardy.
The recovering, yet-still-weak economy puts charity retailer Goodwill in a sweet position. Consumer spending is up, so more old stuff makes its way to thrift stores. At the same time, high unemployment means the bargain hunters are still out in force.
The Salvation Army Indiana said Tuesday that it just missed the $3 million mark in its annual Tree of Lights campaign, partly
because the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti diverted the
staff’s attention from the fund-raising effort.
A little more research on the comparison of housing costs in Indianapolis vs. Needham, Mass., was needed [in the Jan. 25
story on Salvation Army].
In Indiana, the Salvation Army owns 34 residences, including 10 in Indianapolis with a combined value of $1.6 million.
Charities in Indiana have reported increased requests for help with rent, utility costs, food and other services.
The Salvation Army of Indiana soon will test a swipe-card option for curbside donations to its annual “Tree of Lights” fund-raising campaign.
Thrifty Threads store manager Tim Waldrip can hardly keep up when he puts stylish used clothes on the thrift store’s mannequins.
Customers snag them so quickly he has to change the outfits three to four times a day. Regardless of what its mannequins are
wearing, the not-forprofit shop on West 86th Street is flourishing. Sales in 2006 reached $336,000-a 24-percent increase from
the previous year. Now the Julian Center, the Indianapolis shelter for abused women that runs Thrifty Threads, is…