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facts based on International and US statistics
The Salvation Army provides assistance to those in need 365 days a year.
Founded by William Booth in 1865, The Salvation Army is an
international organization that meets the physical and spiritual needs
of people in 116 countries around the globe, without discrimination.
With
nearly 7,700 centers of operation in the United States, The Salvation
Army assists about 29 million individuals nationwide throughout the year
- almost 4.5 million of those during the holiday season alone.
About 83% of your donation to The Salvation Army goes directly to program funding to help people who need it most.
The
Salvation Army operates several domestic violence shelters nationwide,
where abused women and children can get a fresh start in life, safely
and confidentially.
When you shop at Salvation Army thrift
stores, you are supporting adult rehabilitation centers that annually
help more than 340,000 people from every walk of life fight substance
abuse and return to their communities as participating, contributing
members.
The Salvation Army's Alegria program in Los Angeles
provides transitional and permanent housing and specialized support
services to homeless and low-income families affected by HIV/AIDS.
The
red Christmas kettle debuted in San Francisco in 1891 in the guise of a
crab pot. A depression had thrown many out of work, including hundreds
of seamen and longshoremen. The campaign proved so successful that by
1900 it was imitated nationwide.
Movie actors Clark Gable, Cary
Grant, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Mae West, and Joan Crawford have
all appeared in movies with Army characters.
Nearly 3.4 million people volunteer for The Salvation Army nationwide.
The
Salvation Army's work in disaster relief began in 1900 in response to
the devastating hurricane that destroyed Galveston, TX and killed more
than 5,000 people.
The Salvation Army began dispensing food and
drinks near Ground Zero less than an hour after the 2001 terrorist
attacks on the Twin Towers. In our nearly nine months of service there,
40,000 Salvation Army volunteers, staff and officers assisted 4.5
million people with meals, pastoral counseling and social services.
The Salvation Army operates a Missing Persons Program, which helped more than 148,000 people last year.
The
Salvation Army's Community Care Ministries visited more than 3 million
people with special needs in hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional
facilities last year.
The Salvation Army assists more than 14.6 million people with basic social services each year.
In
1891, The Salvation Army opened its own match factory in Old Ford, East
London. Only using harmless red phosphorus, the workers were soon
producing six million boxes a year. A competitor paid its workers just
over two pence (two British pennies) a gross, while The Salvation Army
paid their employees twice that amount.
The Salvation Army
provided an opportunity to camp for more than 200,000 underprivileged
children, seniors, and adults last year.
Joan Kroc, widow of
McDonalds founder Ray Kroc, made the largest individual charitable
contribution in history to The Salvation Army in 2003. Her $1.5 billion
gift was given to the Army for the exclusive purpose of building
recreational and community centers in under-served neighborhoods.
The Salvation Army was at the frontlines in World Wars I and II, offering comfort and pastoral guidance.
The Salvation Army provided well over 100,000 job referrals last year.
The red shield dates from 1896 and serves as the trademark for the Army's social services.
The
Salvation Army church in the middle of Times Square, New York (on West
47th Street) operates Theater 315, a 99-seat showcase theater that
stages uplifting family entertainment.
Known for their brass band music, The Salvation Army has approximately 2,500 brass bands worldwide.
Since the 1920s, a Salvation Army brass band from Southern California has marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
The
phrase "on the wagon" was coined by men and women receiving the
services of The Salvation Army. Former National Commander Evangeline
Booth - founder William Booth's daughter - drove a hay wagon through the
streets of New York to encourage alcoholics on board for a ride back to
The Salvation Army. Hence, alcoholics in recovery were said to be "on
the wagon."
The first Salvation Army band was formed in 1882 by
accident. Charles Frye and his sons offered their services as
bodyguards for Salvation Army street preachers. They began playing
music on their brass instruments to give them something to do while they
protected the officers, and soon after quit their family business to
lead the Army's music department.
The Salvation Army led in the
formation of the USO - United Services Organization. The USO operates
service units, which serve members of the armed forces abroad.
"Strawberry
Fields Forever" in the Beatles 1966 song by that name, is John Lennon's
nostalgic reference to a Salvation Army orphanage called Strawberry
Field in Woolton, England. Lennon is said to have played with childhood
friends in the trees behind the orphanage when he was a boy.