“It’s a warm Saturday afternoon, a clear day and the sun is shining. You could hear the conversations of many people. Kids were running around the donation truck, playing with toy guns their parents picked for them in the give-a-way box. Everyone seemed to have smiles on their faces as if today was just another great day at the Salvation Army.
“Days like this… with people donating and everything, just helping out period, is beautiful,” says Lisa Joyner, a volunteer. “Many people don’t feel that it will make a difference if they donate or help, but what they don’t know is that it only takes one person to brighten another’s future.” Lisa, a donator for the past 10 years, and others have donated their weekends, after long 9-5 weekdays, to assist the less fortunate. Most of these people feel that helping one another is something that should happen automatically. Coming out and seeing the faces of those who don’t have much get what they need is something fulfilling.
John’s story
John Hawks, a recovering alcoholic, said the Salvation Army is what helped him “get back on track.” Hawks also says that when he was addicted to alcohol, his addiction caused him to lose his family and friends, and he ended up on the streets for quite a period of time. One day he got up and walked into a Salvation Army Rehabilitation Center and soon his life began to turn around. After numerous Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and being sober for 10 years, John Hawks is now a bank manager, donating most of his time to drug and alcoholic recoverers. He feels that passing on what he learned is his job as a human being.
Programs for teens
Teenagers, as well as those who are less fortunate, are also the center of attention at the Salvation Army. Most teen runaways and/or homeless teens get to stay at shelters with hot meal. Programs for teens have just recently been getting underway – programs such as a teen hotline where kids can call up and talk about family, drugs, or sex problems. Community service clean-ups is a program that is about a year old. This program gives kids a chance to go out and clean their neighborhoods. Cleaning tags from buildings, volunteering at food drives and shelters are just some of the things that teens do to make their community and people feel better.
My mother and I always gave
There is always help. As far back as I can remember while growing up, my mother and I have donated furniture and clothing (many of them my outgrown baby clothes, sports uniforms and shoes) to various charities, including United Way and some food drives.
Sometimes it makes me think, do these little things we do really help a person who is down on their luck? The answer is yes. Just the little things you do make a difference in someone else’s life. It gives them hope to face another obstacle in the hard life they have to deal with every day. As I stood there watching, it seemed to me that everyone in the Salvation Army that day felt happy with what they had and not complaining about what they couldn’t get. In a way it makes me – and should make others – think more about the life we live today, and the things we know that we are really lucky to have.
Poverty happens year around
Now that the holidays are coming up it’s great to see lots of us go out and donate. My mom had suggested that we load up the car trunk with our soda cans and plastic bottles and on our way to dispose of them, maybe we could just give them to some homeless person gathering cans, etc, that we might see along the way.
What most of us have to realize is that poverty is something that happens 365 days around, not just one season. Everyone can help in the fight against hunger, drug abuse or homelessness. Just go to your local charity and donate some hours (or goods), because the need for help never ends.”