Greensboro, NC Receives $5 Million Grant for Work With Homelessness
The Salvation Army of Greensboro, North Carolina has received a generous $5 million grant from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez through the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. Grants from the fund are annually awarded to organizations doing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families experiencing homelessness secure housing and achieve stability.
The Salvation Army has been faithfully serving the Greensboro community since 1904 and already knows how they will utilize these funds to make their services even more robust for those in need of a helping hand.
“What a way to end our 120th year of service to the Greensboro community with this incredible gift,” Corps Officer Captain Chris Raymer says. “We are thrilled to be entrusted with these funds to be able to make an even greater impact on those we serve over the next five years. We know that with this gift we will be able to see more families off the streets and into stable housing.”
Captain Raymer says the plan is to use the funds to help 30 families in need per year over the next five years, using $1 million a year to expand the Pathway to Success program, a program which houses families experiencing homelessness with a larger goal of getting them to self-sufficiency through supportive services.
Through this grant, Leroy Wilson, Greensboro director of social services says, “we will be able to enhance our ability to serve homeless families in the Greensboro area and provide wraparound services to impact the sustainability of the family unit.”
Several Salvation Army corps and area commands have been recipients of this compassionate grant since its creation in 2018. Additional Southern Territorial recipients include:
- 2023: Greater Charlotte; Charlotte, NC ($3.75m)
- 2023: Fort Myers Area Command; Fort Myers, FL ($2.5m)
- 2020: Austin Area Command; Austin, TX ($2.5m)
- 2018: Center of Hope; Charlotte, NC ($5m)
- 2018: Greater Houston; Houston, TX ($5m)
This grant is part of a larger $110.5 million initiative by the Day 1 Families Fund, which awarded grants to 40 organizations for 2024. In a joint statement, Bezos and Sánchez expressed their admiration for The Salvation Army’s work in addressing critical community needs. “We are inspired by The Salvation Army’s dedication to lifting up those in need and providing a pathway to stability and hope. It is our honor to support their mission.”