The Salvation Army Was There for Him as a Child. Now, He’s Giving Back.
Many people share core childhood memories. They remember things like their first friend, the neighborhood they grew up in, and their first car. It’s similar to what Marlon Montgomery remembers from his childhood.
Yet there is one core memory that stands out to him the most—his experience with The Salvation Army.
Montgomery grew up on the south side of Charlotte, N.C., in the 1980s. He remembers playing outside games with his sister and friends. But on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, those same kids were outside for a different reason.
They were waiting to be picked up by The Salvation Army.
“[The Salvation Army] picks you up for bowling, basketball, and Bible study,” said Montgomery. “I remember stuff like going fishing or going to sing Christmas carols.”
Montgomery was also a part of The Salvation Army Adventure Corps, a character-building program for boys, attended Camp Walter Johnson with his sister for several summers and became a junior soldier.
“I learned life skills, leadership, teamwork through sports programs and the clubs,” he said. “Just being around positive adult mentors, I knew I was in a safe environment.”
As Montgomery entered his teenage years in the 90s, he began ringing the bell for The Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign at the Walmart off Arrowood Road, now located off South Tryon Street.
But he didn’t start as a volunteer.
“It was a job opportunity as a teenager to ring bells,” he said. “So, I was working at McDonald's and [ringing bells] for a couple of weeks during the winter.”
As Montgomery recalls memories with The Salvation Army, he remembers a place where children had something positive to do and mentors to look up to. It was more than just a program to him.
It was a place where he matured without even realizing it.
Now, decades later, Montgomery returned to The Salvation Army, not as a child receiving support, but as a volunteer helping to provide it by doing something he’s familiar with – ringing the bell in front of a Walmart.
He’s been doing it for the last four years in the Arboretum neighborhood.
“I had a lady come to me at the Arboretum, and she said, ‘It’s so cold out here. God bless you,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, but it’s for a good cause, ’ " he said.
He also volunteers during The Salvation Army Angel Tree gift distribution, helping less fortunate families receive Christmas gifts for their children.
He recalls a story from a time he helped a woman receiving Christmas assistance for her family.
“I had a lady that I helped to get a gift to her car. She said, ‘I just want to say thank you. ’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m just doing what I like doing. [The Salvation Army] helped me out when I was younger,’ And she started crying and gave me a hug,” he said. “It makes me feel overwhelmed with joy to know that somebody is going through a struggle, and as a [Salvation Army volunteer], I can help make them better.”
It’s moments like those that keep Montgomery motivated to pay it forward.
“It’s a lot of people out there that can use the help that you don’t see day to day,” he said. “I know that my money and time are going for a good cause.”
What began as a childhood memory later became a personal mission. Montgomery's volunteer service is proof that when care is planted early, it can grow into something powerful years later.