Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

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Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid zip code

Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid zip code

Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
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Please enter a valid zip code
BRIGHTEN THE HOLIDAYS Image

BRIGHTEN THE HOLIDAYS

Providing physical needs such as grocery, utility and gift assistance,
to emotional experiences including holiday events and traditions.

Brighten the Holidays with The Salvation Army Alabama Louisiana Mississippi Division by bringing joy to families in need. Your contribution can make a significant difference in someone’s life. Whether it’s a Christmas gift for children from low-income families or helping The Salvation Army provide supportive services for veteran families, your generosity can light up the holiday season.

Our Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program provides crucial support to families at risk of homelessness, ensuring they have a safe and warm place to celebrate the holidays.

We also offer aid to those struggling with utility bills. Your donation to our utility assistance program at The Salvation Army can help those in need with gas bills and keep the heat on for a family in need during the cold winter months.

You may also consider making the holiday season special for a family by contributing to group Christmas gifts for a family or our programs to help teenage mothers with housing that offer stability and support to young mothers and their children.

Because of COVID-19, the need is greater

The Salvation Army expects to see a greater need for our services – more than any in recent history.

Unemployment rates are expected to be 10%-11%, and based on the increased service we’ve already provided this year due to COVID-19, we need resources to serve up to 155% more people with Christmas assistance. 

Because of COVID-19, the need is greater

COVID-19 has not only created a bigger need for us to fill, it has also decreased the number of traditional red kettles you’re used to seeing on street corners and at store entrances each Christmas season. A decrease in Red Kettle funds is due to several factors, including:

  • Consumers carrying less cash and fewer coins
  • More online shopping, which means less foot traffic in shopping areas
  • Unemployment rates
  • Recent closures of some brick-and-mortar retail stores

Our work this holiday season is going to be even more crucial to serve the most vulnerable – regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender orientation – in your community.

 

Find help this holiday season

We’re serving people who have been impacted by COVID-19 all around the country.

If you or a loved one needs help, please contact your local Salvation Army to see what services are available in your area.
 

 

Rock the Red Kettle to Help Rescue Christmas

Watch the entire 2020 Red Kettle concert below

Sony Music Nashville and Sinclair Broadcast Group partnered with The Salvation Army to help rescue Christmas for millions of Americans in need in 2020. Robert Counts, Adam Doleac, Niko Moon, Mitchell Tenpenny and Rachel Wammack performed Christmas favorites on the Rock the Red Kettle special in an effort to uplift and encourage viewers to help rescue Christmas by supporting The Salvation Army’s relief efforts.

In a year when millions more Americans are in need due to the impacts of COVID-19, and when The Salvation Army expected a 50% decrease in funds raised through the iconic Red Kettles, the need for awareness and public support has been more important than ever.

Produced by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Rock the Red Kettle special aired exclusively on Sinclair’s free, over-the-top streaming platform STIRR on December 16.

The entire special is now available through The Salvation Army’s partnership with Sony Music Nashville on YouTube.

 

Help us assist families in need this Christmas season, and throughout the year

Donate Now

 

Here are a few things your giving supports

Homeless shelters

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are like those we experienced after disasters like hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Harvey. Only this time, the losses are across the entire country and will be longer lasting. And as with any disaster, we are there, on the ground, providing physical, emotional, and spiritual support. The Salvation Army serves those in need 365 days a year through homeless shelters, traditional housing, permanent supportive housing, and re-entry resources.

Grocery assistance

According to recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, “26 million adults – 10.8% of all adults in the country – reported that their household sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the past seven days” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve already seen it. Grocery delivery is the most requested service The Salvation Army has been providing during the pandemic. Our food pantries and meal programs will be stretched to capacity to fulfill the need this holiday season, so we’ll need your generosity to make sure no one goes unfed.

Angel Tree Program

Economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic will force millions of parents to choose between paying rent/utilities and buying Christmas presents. In fact, we expect an additional 1.6 million more people will seek our help to make Christmas brighter this year. In a typical year, we put new clothes and toys under the tree for 1 million children who usually must go without Christmas gifts. Anonymous donors adopt these little “angels” in an expanding Christmas tradition that makes the season more rewarding for the gift giver and happier for the receiver. This year, please consider taking a few more angels off the tree or donating gifts in bulk.

Bill-pay assistance

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on families who were already struggling to pay the bills. In fact, about 12 million families missed mortgage or rent payments in March. Of those, 7.8 million families are also struggling to provide meals, an increase of 1.8 million families since before the pandemic. The devastation is along the lines of the 2008 recession, with 8 million families in danger of missing their mortgage payments or rent.

The Salvation Army helps struggling households pay their utility bills, offsetting the added financial burdens that come with Christmas-season expenses. This allows low-income families to maintain self-dignity and stability while keeping up with their bills and keeping the heat on during those cold winter months.

 Serving All Without Discrimination

In providing its programs and services to the needy and underserved during the holidays, The Salvation Army is committed to accommodating all those in need without unlawful discrimination or harassment based on age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic in accordance with our capacity to help.

This Christmas, help us make a difference

Help us give hope to those in need who feel forgotten.

Christmas Stories of People We Serve

Back in Control

After a challenging time in her life, the kind many are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Crystal checked into The Salvation Army’s family shelter at the Community of Hope in Lakeland, Florida. Her primary goal was to build a stable home for herself and her three children, especially after her recent eviction. 

Crystal enrolled in the Pathway of Hope program and quickly secured a job at a local restaurant. She was able to open a bank account to save money in order to transition out of the shelter and into stable, secure housing.

“I think Crystal’s story is really a perfect reminder that, through Pathway of Hope, we can really break the cycle of poverty for people who have faced hardships for large portions of their life,” said a Salvation Army social services program coordinator. “I think she’s a shining example of someone who really wanted to put in the work, and we were able to come alongside her in the journey.”

Crystal remains active in the Pathway of Hope initiative and plans to pursue her GED as well as secure a driver’s license. Her journey continues with an eye toward a better future, and her story stands as an illustration of what hard work and persistence can bring.

First-Time Need

Chelsey, a single mother of two children (one disabled) and U.S. Navy Veteran from Minnesota, has never needed help from The Salvation Army until the COVID-19 pandemic began. During the past two months, Chelsey has received groceries from The Salvation Army a half dozen times. She’s among the growing number of people who are first-time visitors to Salvation Army food pantries. 

Recently, she was able to return to work part-time. Although Chelsey will not need to rely on food assistance for much longer, she is happy to know that The Salvation Army and our supporters will always be here to help. 

Sweet Relief

Alicia, a full-time candy store employee and mother of four from York, Pennsylvania, had her hours cut drastically when COVID-19 struck the U.S., and she fell $2,000 behind on her rent. With no other options left, Alicia turned to The Salvation Army. Alicia received $1,000 to help with rent, and she was able to pay the other $1,000. The Salvation Army also helped her with food assistance to help further ease the financial burden.  

“This helped me out a lot,” Alicia said. “Without The Salvation Army, I don’t think we would be able to continue to stay in this house that we’re in now. Anyone looking for help – The Salvation Army is your best bet. They work with you, and when they say they’re willing to help you, they follow up, step by step.” 

Alicia is now back to work full-time and is continuing to work with The Salvation Army to earn her GED and high school diploma. 

Life-Saving Help

Mindy Reyes, a single mom of four kids, is still alive today thanks to a phone call from The Salvation Army. Mindy learned that she had contracted COVID-19 in late May. After her ex-husband refused to take care of her four young children, they all contracted the virus.

“The first three days I didn’t tell anybody,” Mindy said. “I didn’t have any family in the area and was scared. As I got sicker, I called The Salvation Army. I couldn’t handle it. Everybody was sick and we were running out of food.” 

The Salvation Army was able to bring the family food, but as time went on, Mindy’s health continued to worsen. A Salvation Army officer called her home a while later and after hearing the condition Mindy was in, called an ambulance which took her to the hospital just in time, saving her life. 

PR contacts

All local media are asked to first contact their local Salvation Army representative for all inquiries, including spokesperson requests.

For media queries, please contact:

Aimee Murry
The Salvation Army
601-961-7709
aimee.murry@uss.salvationarmy.org

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