There are a lot of things to be thankful for during the holidays. At The Salvation Army, one of the things we are especially grateful for is the millions of donors and volunteers who support our work in communities across the country – through time, financial support or even just by spreading the word about our work. More and more, we are noticing that many of these supporters are young people. I’d like to take some time in this last blog post of the season to recognize some of these exceptional young philanthropists.

One example is 11-year-old Stephen Smith of Houston, TX. During a trip to the mall at age 4, Stephen noticed some people on the street holding cardboard signs asking for money. His dad explained to him that the people were poor and homeless. Stephen was distressed by this and went home to collect change from around the house. He returned to the spot and donated it to the folks he had seen earlier.
This was the beginning of Stephen’s philanthropy. That year, he hosted his first Christmas benefit party for The Salvation Army – a tradition now in its sixth year. Stephen, who has been dubbed “Houston’s Youngest Philanthropist,” sends out invitations to friends, classmates and family in the area and hosts the party at his home. In lieu of gifts, people are encouraged to bring food, toys and monetary donations to be given to the Army and distributed to the homeless and others in need locally at Christmas.

Another great example is Melanie Adelman, a seventeen-year-old from Wayne, NJ. Melanie started MyShoe4U, a program that encourages others to donate old and new shoes to charity. In three years, the program has collected more than 2,000 pairs of shoes, which have been given to Salvation Army thrift stores.

This spring in Broken Arrow, OK, five-year-old Silas Honnold performed as “Silas – The One Man Pan Band” in his front yard to raise money- $221.20 to be exact- for his local Salvation Army.

These are just a few of the hundreds of examples of young people from around the country who feel inspired to support our work – and the work of other great charities. The past ten years have brought us Hurricane Katrina and the 9-11 attacks, among other national calamities. Perhaps the silver lining in this sadness is that a generation has grown up during a time in which philanthropy and giving back are rightly and truly celebrated. As we enter this next decade, we will all look to this youngest generation to help the country – and the world – continue to move forward with a renewed commitment to serving others. Merry Christmas to you all. And Happy New Year.

I've been asking a lot of questions in my blog posts so far. So this time, I’m going to make a statement -- The Salvation Army can cook. Indeed, cooking and food service is in our DNA. During the first and second world wars, Salvation Army "lassies" were well-known for serving coffee and doughnuts to Allied soldiers (in fact, the Army is often credited with popularizing the doughnut in the United States -- as troops came home with a new taste for these sweet treats).

Each year, The Salvation Army responds to hundreds of disasters nationwide with our fleet of mobile kitchens and canteens – with plenty of cooks serving hot food and drinks to survivors and response workers.

We feed thousands everyday at shelters, rehabilitation centers and other programs across the country. Last year alone, The Salvation Army served 69,053,263 meals to people in need.

Recently, chef Cecil Morris, a former Salvation Army client in Mobile, AL, was featured on the NBC Today Show. Cecil was a homeless drug user when he first came to The Salvation Army in the early 1990s. He gradually turned his life around – working his way up from a dishwasher in one of our shelter kitchens to his position today as culinary director for the Army in Mobile. He’s well-known locally for his award winning barbecued ribs, shrimp and other items. Cecil has an inspiring story – just like so many who come through our doors each and every day. 

Another inspiring story is The Salvation Army’s Timothy Tucker, a classically-trained chef and former five-star restaurant cook who left the restaurant business to work at the Army’s Center of Hope in Louisville, KY. Timothy rejects the idea that shelter food needs to taste like “shelter food.” He uses fresh organic produce from an on-site garden to serve signature dishes to around 400 clients a day. Chef Tucker also teaches culinary skills to Center of Hope clients – many of whom are now employed in the food service industry.

These are just a few of the hundreds of dedicated chefs The Salvation Army employs nationwide. To read more about Cecil Morris, Timothy Tucker and other Salvation Army cooks check out this USA Today article.

Have you ever wondered where all your money goes after you drop your change (or swipe your credit card) into a red kettle? It’s a good question. The Salvation Army’s Annual Report is a great way for donors to learn how their money is being used to help people in need nationwide.

For several years I’ve been thinking about how we can do a better job distributing our annual report – to make sure the reports don’t sit on a shelf collecting dust somewhere. This past year -- for the first time ever -- The Salvation Army went entirely paperless by releasing its annual report exclusively online. Having the report “live” online ensures that it is easily accessible to as many people as possible.  

In addition to interactive financial statements and a video “letter” from our National Commander, among other items, the Annual Report also features testimonial videos about the Army’s work. One of the videos highlights the FAITH program in Sarasota, FL which offers transitional housing for homeless families with children.

Another video features the Caring Partners Adult Day Program which was started at The Salvation Army in Rochester, NY. It helps physically and mentally challenged adults while also offering support to their spouses and children.

Every donation counts – from individuals and from our corporate partners like Walmart. But it’s easy to lose sight of the real good that these gifts do. Our hope is that with the online annual report, people will really get a sense of where these contributions go – and how they help. You can check out the report for yourself here: http://annualreport.salvationarmyusa.org/.

Where were you this Thanksgiving? At your grandparent’s house surrounded by family members? Cooking a big meal at home for friends? Or volunteering your time and serving Thanksgiving dinner to those in need?

The Salvation Army helps thousands of people who might not otherwise have a place to go celebrate Thanksgiving each year.

One of our largest annual Thanksgiving feasts is in Orlando, FL where, for the 17th year in a row, The Salvation Army teamed up with “Helping from the Heart” founder and Golden Corral restaurants franchisee, Eric Holm, to serve the state’s largest Thanksgiving meal. The Salvation Army served close to 25,000 people this year which was an increase from the 21,000 people served last year as the overall need for food and other services has continued to increase.

So, you may be wondering, how is it possible to serve Thanksgiving dinner to 25,000 people? Local chefs and more than 1,000 volunteers helped prep and serve the food to everyone that came through the doors. Sprint provided cell phone stations to people who wanted to get in touch and reconnect with family and friends for the holiday. Pepsi also provided drinks and supplies for the occasion.

The Salvation Army in Orlando was not the only place whipping up a big meal this year. Ten Salvation Army centers in New York City were hard at work on Turkey Day providing food for around 10,000 people - many of whom are without a job or home this year.

In Southern California, meanwhile, The Salvation Army served dinner to more than 12,000 people throughout the region. Check out this video, to get a sense of what that means.

I wonder what 49,600 ounces of gravy would look like … mmmm … Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
 

Show of hands … how many people have seen a Salvation Army red kettle on a street corner, at the mall or in front of your local Walmart store this year? Okay … how many people have dropped some spare change or a buck or two into a kettle? Alright … now a trickier one … who knows where this money goes?

Stumped? 

Since 1891, the money raised during the annual Red Kettle Christmas Campaign – our largest fundraiser of the year - has gone to help people facing a variety of life challenges in communities nationwide. Red Kettle donations may help someone who is homeless, who can’t pay their rent, who is struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, who was displaced by a hurricane or other disaster, or someone who just needs an extra hand getting Christmas gifts for their loved ones.

And that’s just a few of the things we do.

The Salvation Army believes strongly that local oversight of social services is the best way to meet community needs. That means that all money raised in the red kettles stays in the local community. It also means that the programs we provide in my hometown of Alexandria, VA, may not be the same as those we provide in Seattle or Boston. We do our best to customize based on local need. But, you can always count on us doing the most good to help with money we raise in the kettles. 

So, how does Walmart fit in to all of this? Well, Walmart is our single largest retail partner at Christmas. In fact, around a quarter of all donations to red kettles each year are made in front of Walmart stores – in 2008, that meant $34 million out of $130 million raised overall. And that’s just the beginning of the great partnership we’ve had with Walmart stretching back more than 20 years. Some other highlights:

• In addition to allowing kettles in front of stores, Walmart typically donates around $1 million dollars to the Army each Christmas
• Following Hurricane Katrina, Walmart provided not only monetary but also significant logistical support to The Salvation Army to make sure we could get help to those who needed it
• In 2005, Walmart was the Army’s first corporate partner to host their very own Online Red Kettle on their home page.
• A couple of years ago, Walmart produced one of my all-time favorite Salvation Army commercials:

We’re very excited to be a part of this program at Walmartgiving.com and I look forward to sharing some stories with you in the coming weeks about how the Army gives back in local communities at Christmas and throughout the year.