Bear seems happy to be part of a great team of Salvation Army volunteers, along with Kathy Brown, Phillip Nash and Mike Hernandez. Hernandez is the dog’s caretaker, but Bear belongs to everyone at the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps and serves as source of comfort to guests of the Hospitality House emergency family shelter. Photo by Chris Sloan
Volunteers Kathy Brown, Phillip Nash, Mike Hernandez and mascot Bear are the faces guests of the San Bernardino Hospitality House will most likely become familiar with during their stay. The Salvation Army adopted Bear because, not unlike human guests, he decided he liked it at The Salvation Army. He hung out there for six months while shelter workers tried unsuccessfully to find his previous owner. Photo by Chris Sloan
Hospitality House volunteer Kathy Brown pets Bear, who is ready for a walk. Bear lives at, and serves as the official mascot of, the Salvation Army Hospitality House emergency family shelter in San Bernardino. Photo by Chris Sloan.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Like many he meets at the Salvation Army’s Hospitality House emergency family shelter, Bear previously called the streets of San Bernardino “home.”
Now this terrier mix makes the shelter feel more like home. Bear is a stray, taken in by the shelter’s live-in caretaker Mike Hernandez, after being officially adopted by the Salvation Army.
“The kids love him,” Hernandez said. “He is the shelter’s mascot and the perfect pet.”
Although Bear is gentle around the children, Hernandez said, he’s also a good watch dog, letting the shelter’s volunteers and staff know when someone comes to the door.
“Before we adopted him, he had been hanging around the shelter for about six months,” Hernandez said. “We don’t know where he came from.”
“He just wandered into the homeless shelter, not unlike many of the humans who have stayed there,” said Brian Cronin, treasurer of the Salvation Army advisory board and president of Animals R First (ARF), a non-profit organization that helps find homes for abandoned dogs and cats.
For six months before The Salvation Army adopted Bear, the Hospitality House workers asked everyone who lived nearby if they knew to whom the dog belonged. No one knew.
The Hospitality House staff told Cronin about Bear, because as the director of the San Bernardino County Animal Control Department, president of ARF, and genuine animal lover, they knew he could help finalize the adoption.
ARF paid for Bear’s neutering, vaccinations and grooming just before the adoption was made official.
“There are so many homeless animals living in the streets,” Cronin said. “This dog we knew would have a quality home by living at the Hospitality House. Besides, dogs can be a great comfort in times of distress, and guests of the Hospitality House often need that comfort. We felt it was a perfect match” About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY
For local help call (909) 888-1336.
The Salvation Army Corps of San Bernardino recently received a $10,000 grant from Sempra Energy Foundation, which brought the total for its annual Fall Fundraiser event over its goal of $50,000. The fund raising event and the recently concluded Bell Ringer campaign are the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps’ largest fundraisers of the year. Kristine Scott (second from right), Inland Empire community affairs director for Sempra-owned Southern California Gas Company, presented the check to Corps Officer Capt. Stephen Ball, advisory board members Carl Dameron (left) and advisory board President Tom Brickley (right). Photo by Chris Sloan
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The Salvation Army has been selected to receive a $10,000 grant from the Sempra Energy Foundation as part of its “Helping People In Need Initiative.”
“This initiative represents the Sempra Energy Foundation and the Sempra Energy family of companies continuing commitment to help families in need,” said Kristine Scott, public affairs manager for Sempra-owned Southern California Gas Company.
In addition to matching employee donations to selected non-profits that provide food, shelter, and other related assistance, Sempra identified key agencies such as The Salvation Army to receive funding.
“The Salvation Army plays a critical role in helping to meet the growing needs in our Southern California communities,” Scott said. “This grant is intended to recognize the important work The Salvation Army does in the local community.
“This was a very unexpected, yet pleasant surprise,” said Captain Stephen Ball, Salvation Army Corps officer. “With the down economy, we were faced with a shortfall from our annual fundraising efforts. This donation really helped us to make up the difference. These funds will go directly to support the operating cost for housing and feeding the homeless.” Helping People In Need Initiative:
Sempra Energy and the Sempra Foundation donated $850,000 in direct grants and matching funds in support of this initiative.
This donation and employee matching grant-program is about giving to the community at a time when many are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Sempra employees want to support causes that are helping families during these times.
As part of this initiative, the Sempra Energy Foundation awarded more than 100 grants to local agencies in the communities served by Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas and Electric, Sempra Energy utilities. These agencies represent and serve a wide range of needs in the local communities, but generally provide food, shelter, and other related needs.
The Sempra Energy Foundation is the 501(c)(3) private foundation of Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500 energy services holding company.
About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, call (909) 888-1336.
Jason Hulsey, a Salvation Army volunteer, loads gift boxes onto a dolly so that he can give them to recipients. Photo by Chris Sloan
San Bernardino Salvation Army Corps Officer Capt. Nancy Ball and volunteer Tara Murphy give gift cards to a recipient of one of 600 holiday gift boxes distributed Tuesday, Dec. 21. Photo by Chris Sloan
A line of needy families awaits distribution of gift boxes by the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army. Photo by Chris Sloan
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army provided 600 families with food and toys for their children in a distribution that took place Tuesday, Dec. 21 at First Christian Church of San Bernardino.
“This is the happiest day of the year for me,” said Capt. Stephen Ball, corps officer. “It means the hard work we have done over the past few months comes to an end with families being blessed. It also gives me an opportunity to share the Christmas story with them.”
Since the Salvation Army is as much a church as it is a humanitarian organization, the story of Jesus’ coming is what motivates all of its officers and volunteers to help others all year. However, from before Thanksgiving to Christmas, the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps steps up its efforts with:
Christmas Sharing Trees, manned by Salvation Army volunteers most of the hours Inland Center Mall is open. These gave opportunities for mall shoppers to buy toys for the children in the 600 families in need.
“This is the only gift my daughter will be getting this Christmas,” said one recipient after she received her child’s gift on Tuesday.
A food drive to fill gift boxes handed out to these families. The boxes contain mixtures of pasta, rice, beans, canned fruits and vegetables and other non-perishable food items. A major donor this year was the Arrowhead District of the Boy Scouts of America, whose San Bernardino, Colton, Rialto, Grand Terrace and Highland troops worked with Salvation Army volunteers to collect 12,000 lbs. of food this year.
The Boy Scouts collected most of that food by requesting donations in front of area Stater Bros. stores in November. Stater Bros. itself also donated some of the food.
Bell Ringers, at multiple locations in San Bernardino, Colton, Highland, Grand Terrace and Rialto, who carried on the Salvation Army’s long-standing and international tradition of ringing silver bells in front of red kettles. This tradition started back in 1891 to raise money for a Christmas dinner; today in San Bernardino it helps pay for grocery store gift cards that are handed out with the food boxes given out Tuesday, as well as a major portion of the expenses associated with feeding 200 to 300 people daily, and sheltering as many as 100 of them each night. It is one of the Salvation Army’s chief means of raising money.
A Thanksgiving dinner that fed about 450 people this year, and a Christmas dinner that is expected to feed about 300. Both of these dinners rely mainly on donated food, but Bell Ringers’ contributions and other financial donations may also be used.
About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help call (909) 888-1336.
Photo caption: Arlene and Priscilla Delgado, ages 4 and 8, each used their savings to purchase Christmas toys for a less fortunate child through the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corp’s Giving Tree program at Inland Center Mall. Help the Salvation Army obtain more toys for children in need by going to the Giving Tree near the mall’s Food Court by Dec. 20. Photo by Kelly Silvestri-Raabe
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calf.) Arlene Delgado, age 4, and her sister, Priscilla, age 8, have some fantastic Christmas plans. They ‘re leaving a few days before the holiday to spend an entire month with their mom’s sister in Indiana.
The girls have also made sure two other children have a fantastic Christmas. They did so by purchasing gifts through the Salvation Army Giving Tree set up near the food court of Inland Center Mall. These gifts will go to children ages 0-12 whom the Salvation Army has identified as members of some of the neediest families in our area.
“When these girls brought their gifts to the Giving Tree, they wanted to make sure they would go to the children who had asked for them,” said Kelly Silvestri-Raabe, who was volunteering at the tree the night the girls went shopping. “It turned out they had emptied their piggy banks to buy these presents.”
“That’s what the spirit of Christmas is all about, “ Silvestri-Raabe added. “Two little girls gave all they had.”
Priscilla Delgado, who turns 9 on Dec. 27, had been saving her money all year, according to her mother Regina Delgado. Arlene had saved a smaller amount.
Meanwhile, the family was planning to give Priscilla one Christmas/birthday gift, a trip to Disneyland.
But, when their aunt invited the family to stay with them for the girls’ entire Christmas break, that was even more exciting. The trip to Disneyland would have cost even more money than staying with family in Indiana.
“We decided to use our Disneyland money to buy something for other people,” Regina Delgado said. “I encouraged my girls to do this, because our family believes it is more important to give than to receive. We will be spending our Christmas with family, and that is the best gift of all.”
The Giving Tree is a way used by Salvation Army corps worldwide to help less fortunate children receive at least one gift on their Christmas wish lists. From Thanksgiving until a few days before Christmas, trees are set up in local malls and other shopping areas.
Attached to branches of the tree are cards with names of children whose families simply cannot afford to buy gifts, as much as they would love to. Shoppers who want to take part by helping disadvantaged children simply pluck a tag off the Giving Tree, read the child’s name and wish list, then head for the appropriate store for a little sharing of their own.
Shoppers don’t even have to stay in the mall where they found the Giving Tree. After obtaining the information for their gift tree recipients, the Delgado family purchased gifts at Target.
Others have taken advantage of a partnership the Salvation Army has formed with JCPenny for the Giving Tree program. Online shoppers can go to JCPenny.com/Angel and search for children (and in some places senior citizens) in any ZIP Code.
The website allows online shoppers to order a gift from Penney’s online catalog, and gives them the choice of dropping the gift off at their local Salvation Army’s collection center, or of having UPS ship it, at no charge, to that collection center.
It is not too late to be matched with a child either at Inland Center Mall or through JCPenny.com
Salvation Army volunteers make sure the presents are earmarked for the specific child.
To help, or for more information, call (909) 888-1336. About the Salvations Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, call (909) 888-1336.
A crew of volunteers serves meals from the kitchen at the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving Dinner. About 125 volunteers served a free traditional Thanksgiving meal to about 250 guests. Photo by Ricardo Tombac
Clarissa Ruiz, 14 and Vanessa Cordero, 21, volunteers with the Rock Church in San Bernardino, serve pumpkin pie to the Salvation Army’s guests at Thanksgiving dinner. Clarissa and Vanessa have both volunteered three years in a row. About 125 people volunteered this year, preparing and serving a free Thanksgiving dinner to 250 guests. Photo by Ricardo Tombac
Benjamin Hartnell from the San Bernardino Crossroads Rotary, and Terry Bryan a Scout Master from Troop 110 from Rialto washed pots and pans for several hours during the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Photo by Ricardo Tombac
Sandy and Mike Rowles hand out cold drinks to guests at the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner. The couple came from Fontana to volunteer. Photo by Ricardo Tombac
Jeremy and Shannon Ellsworth and Eric and Stacy Bellinger, all from a Farmers’ Insurance office, relieved other exhausted volunteers at the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner. Photo by Ricardo Tombac
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army served a Thanksgiving dinner to about 250 people on Thursday, Nov. 25.
This annual Thanksgiving dinner is a community event involving more than 125 volunteers. Together they provide a traditional dinner of turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, vegetables and pie.
At one table a young family of five quietly enjoyed a full turkey and ham meal with all the trimmings. The father said that “he is working full time, but only makes enough money to pay for the rent; without the Salvation Army, there wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving meal for his family.”
Preparations for the meal start several days before Thanksgiving for kitchen volunteers.
On Thanksgiving Day, more volunteers arrive, and are assigned various jobs and tasks. Kitchen servers work in shifts while dining room crews taken on many responsibilities, such as greeting guests and serving them various courses of the meal.
Among this year’s volunteers were Press-Enterprise editor Maria DeVarenne and her family.
Volunteers Mike and Sandy Rowles went table to table with big pleasant similes, handing out cold drinks, showing their compassion and care. This was their first year volunteering at the Salvation Army.
Mike and Sandy’s children have grown up and are no longer living with them. With their children living out of state, they decided to do something different for Thanksgiving, so they drove from Fontana to help out.
Back in the kitchen, Benjamin Hartnell from the San Bernardino Crossroads Rotary, and Terry Bryan, a Scout Master with Troop 110 from Rialto willingly washed pots and pans non-stop for several hours.
Two hours into this Thanksgiving meal, two couples from a Farmers Insurance office came to relieve some of the exhausted volunteers. Jeremy and Shannon Ellsworth and Eric and Stacy Bellinger, decked out in their white aprons, took their turns serving the meal.
Volunteers like these are already gearing up to do the same thing all over again on Christmas Day, Saturday, Dec. 25. As was true at Thanksgiving, anyone who comes to 746 W. Fifth St between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. can enjoy a traditional holiday meal of turkey, ham, stuffing, vegetables and desert.
“Whatever people have on their heart to donate, we will serve,” said Hospitality House Director Roosevelt Carroll, who is coordinating the meal.
At the Salvation Army, it’s not just giving out a meal a few times a year. Corps Officers Stephen and Nancy Ball not only focus on people’s physical needs, but also tend to their spiritual needs every day.
The San Bernardino Salvation Army has been serving the community since 1887 and has fed, sheltered and otherwise helped thousands of people each year.
For help, or for more information, call (909) 888-1336. About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, please call (909) 888-1336.
Kelly Silvestri leads children’s activities at the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army as the Young People’s Sgt. Major. Photo by Chris Sloan
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Kelly Silvestri-Raabe thought she had lost everything last year. This year, through the Salvation Army, she has found a new life and new purpose.
The San Bernardino Salvation Army recently named Kelly as the Young People’s Sgt. Major. In this position, she oversees the programs the Salvation Army offers for children ages 6-12.
Kelly believes this simply gives a title and a written job description to the work she’s done gladly for most of 2010. It is a volunteer position, but one to which she devotes most of her time.
“It took me losing everything to see how God wanted to use me,” she said. “I love the Salvation Army. It has completed my life”
Kelly started becoming familiar with the Salvation Army when she checked into the Hospitality House shelter at the end of 2009. She came there three years after her mother’s death, which had led to a downward spiral that included divorce, losing contact with her two sons and being forced out of the house in which she had spent most of her life.
Before she lost her sons, and their father moved them to Ohio, Kelly had largely focused her life on them. She hadn’t planned it that way. Even after she became pregnant in college, she had plans to become an FBI agent, and thought that having children would require only a brief interruption in her career.
“The moment my oldest son was born, I knew that God’s purpose for my life was for me to be a wife and a mother,” she said. “I had never known that kind of love before.”
Her husband had a good job, and the family was living in Kelly’s childhood home, which her mother had sold to them a few years earlier. So, Kelly was able to quit college and become a stay-at-home mom.
When her boys started school she served as the room mother. When they began playing team sports, she served as the team mother.
“My boys were my life,” she said. “I never spent more than a day away from them.”
All that came to a stop in 2005, when her mother suffered a stroke. For the next two years until her mother died, Kelly devoted much of her time to caring for her mother.
Since Kelly’s father had died when she was 7, the feeling of being left alone after her mother’s death caused her to fall into a deep depression. “I turned my back on everyone who loved me,” she said.
Her husband eventually left, and later fled with their sons to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they now live. Kelly has had only limited phone contact with them since then.
Not too long after her husband and sons left California, Kelly came home one day to find the cam locks changed, and her possessions sitting outside. Her house had been foreclosed.
“I had nowhere to go,” she said. “One of my friends suggested the Salvation Army. I said ‘I thought that was a thrift store.’
“I walked into a room where 40 people were sleeping together on the floor, (an arrangement necessary at the time, because the Hospitality House emergency family shelter operated from the Salvation Army Corps headquarters building). I had never felt so safe, because no one looked down on me, they just showed me love and kindness.”
While she was in the shelter, Kelly reached out to the children living there.
“The parents didn’t have anything for them to do,” she said. “When kids are left to their own devices, they can get into trouble.”
She took the shelter’s children on small outings to a nearby park and to the grocery store. On Thursdays, usually a minimum day at the elementary school where shelter children attend, she spent the afternoons teaching them craft projects. She served ice cream to them and baked cakes for them.
“These kids are so thankful for these little things,” Kelly said. “It is a blessing to be able to work with them.”
Once she left the shelter, her work with the children continued and grew. She volunteered with Sunbeams and Adventure Corps, programs the Salvation Army offers during the week to children in first through sixth grade.
In the spring, she participated with them in the Salvation Army’s annual Pinewood Derby, where children and youth leaders from many Corps create racecars from wood and engage them in races on a sloping track. She won.
In the summer, she went with the children to Salvation Army summer camp and taught them to ride bicycles. She took 27 little girls to see a live performance of “The Little Mermaid.”
Now, she is also responsible for Junior Church, a program held on Sunday mornings for children ages 7-12. She also leads Junior Salvationists, a program that prepares preteens to serve their community as part of the Salvation Army Church.
She believes she has found her true calling.
“I had a very comfortable life with my husband and I thought I was happy, she said. “Now, materially, I don’t have anything. But I have so much joy.”
About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, call (909) 888-1336.
-end-
Media: If you would like any of the photos in the slide show below please send an email to Chris@DameronCommunications.com with the photo id number and i will have it to you within 24 hours. If you require the photo sooner please call Chris Sloan at (909) 888-0017.
Inland Empire Job Corps culinary arts students Rene Ortiz, Courtland Akken, Vincent Flores, Jenavie Del Toro, Rory Simms, Calvin Poindexter and Pedro Castillo, joined Salvation Army Corps Officer Nancy Ball, Salvation Army volunteer Kathy Brown, Inland Empire Job Corps Learning Director Greg Trammel and Inland Empire Job Corps Executive Chef/Culinary Instructor Michael Geurds in packing boxes that will be used to fill holiday gift baskets for needy families. The students volunteered their help with sorting and packaging after dropping off 100 donated pumpkin pies to the Salvation Army for its recent Thanksgiving dinner.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Delivering pies to the Salvation Army is a holiday tradition for the Inland Empire Job Corps. Every year before Thanksgiving, they bring enough to feed at least 800 people.
This year, seven students from Job Corps culinary arts program went a step further.
After setting 100 pumpkin pies down in the Salvation Army Corps Headquarters kitchen, the students noticed Salvation Army volunteers and staff packing cans and other non-perishable food items into boxes in the community room. The Job Corps students rolled up the sleeves of their chef’s robes, and set to work helping to sort and pack.
“They took that on themselves,” said Chef Michael Geurds, instructor for the culinary arts program. “They saw a need and wanted to help. Our students are always helping others in the community.”
These boxes of food will create holiday baskets the Salvation Army plans to deliver to about 700 families a few days before Christmas.
“The Job Corps students are a great group of helpful young people, and we appreciate the effort and energy they put into helping us every year during the holiday season,” said Capt. Nancy Ball, Salvation Army Corps officer.
They have been providing community service to The Salvation Army for about a decade.
Last year, three students won a culinary competition and donated the $300 prize to the Salvation Army. The past two years, they donated to the Salvation Army and other organizations a collection of gingerbread homes they had created from scratch as a class project.
Inland Empire Job Corps’ service goes beyond donations. They also frequently help with the preparation and serving of up to 200 meals served at Headquarters throughout the year, and with the maintenance of the grounds of The Salvation Army’s buildings. About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, call (909) 888-1336.
To share Christmas joy with a deserving child, come to Inland Center Mall anytime between Nov. 26 and mid-December and select a tag indicating that child’s age, sex and gift preference. Or find and order a gift for a local child online at jcp.com/angel. Photo by Carl Dameron
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calf.) Local Salvation Army Corps and several businesses have joined forces to make this holiday season one the needy children of the Inland Empire will never forget.
In San Bernardino County, these programs, known as the Angel Giving Tree programs, revolve around actual Christmas trees. These trees will be set up in local malls the day after Thanksgiving to match shoppers with the hundreds of children in each location who are relying on the Salvation Army this year to bring a Merry Christmas.
Attached to branches of the tree are cards with names of children whose families simply cannot afford to buy gifts, as much as they would love to. Shoppers who want to take part by helping disadvantaged children simply pluck a tag off the Giving Tree, read the child’s name and wish list, then head for the appropriate store for a little sharing of their own.
“Why not start a tradition with your family and select a gift for a needy child together,” Capt. Nancy Ball said.
San Bernardino Corps puts its Giving Tree in the Inland Center Mall (500 Inland Center Drive, San Bernardino) near the food court.
“I always find it very heartwarming and satisfying to be able to purchase a gift for one of these children, based on his or her wishes,” said Tom Brickley, who is the president of the Salvation Army’s advisory board, and has participated in the Giving Tree for a number of years. “For some, it may be the only gift they get all year.”
“It is a neat way to give the child the gift he or she wants,” Brickley said. “Some want bicycles, some pants, others a specific toy.”
The Ontario Corps puts trees in Ontario Mills Mall (1 Mills Circle, Ontario) in front of JC Penney’s and Montclair Plaza (5060 E. Montclair Plaza Lane, Montclair) inside the Macy’s store. The Redlands Corps puts a tree at Wal-Mart (2050 W. Redlands Blvd., Redlands).
However, not all corps have actual trees. The Riverside Corps asks shoppers to call (951) 784-4490, ext. 114 to obtain the name of and requests of more than 2,000 children on its “Angel” list.
Since online shopping is also a popular way to buy Christmas gifts, JC Penney’s has a partnership with the Salvation Army allowing shoppers to go to jcp.com/angel and search for children (and in some places senior citizens) in any ZIP Code. The website allows online shoppers to order a gift for them from JC Penney’s online catalog, and gives them the choice of dropping the gift off at their local Salvation Army’s collection center, or of having UPS ship it, at no charge, to that collection center.
The Salvation Army also is looking for other businesses in both San Bernardino and Riverside counties, who would like to have a tree at their place of business for employees and/or customers.
To host an Angel Tree in San Bernardino, Colton, Grand Terrace, Rialto, Bloomington or Highland, call (909) 888-1336. Elsewhere, call 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
“This is a great way for business owners and managers to help the community this Christmas,” Capt. Ball said.
“Soccer balls, dolls and clothes are just a few items on each child’s wish list,” Capt. Ball said. “Shoppers who participate in the program are encouraged to shop for more than what is needed on the list.”
Salvation Army volunteers make sure the presents are earmarked for the specific child. About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, call (909) 888-1336.
The Dameron family (Shiane, Malaika, Carl and Shaila) volunteer each year for an entire day as Salvation Army bellringers. If your family, organization or business can supply enough people to ring bells at one of the San Bernardino Corps Red Kettle locations for an entire day, please volunteer by calling (909) 888-1336.
(San Bernardino, Calif.) –The Salvation Army is gearing up for its Christmas tradition of ringing silver bells by shiny red kettles, so that passersby have a trustworthy opportunity to help those less fortunate.
“The Red Kettle fund raiser is our biggest fund raiser of the year,” said Capt. Nancy Ball, corps officer of The Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps. “We use the funds received to support our programs year-round to provide food, shelter and youth programs to our community.
The Salvation Army will continue ringing bells, Monday through Saturday until Christmas Eve. It seeks volunteer bell-ringers so that it can staff even more locations, more of the time.
For the past several years, Salvation Army of San Bernardino board member, and Dameron Communications founder and creative director, Carl Dameron volunteered with his wife Malaika and two daughters, Shaila and Shiane. The entire Salvation Army of San Bernardino board also volunteered their time to ring silver bells and ask the community for help.
“We receive great satisfaction knowing we had made a difference in our community,” Carl Dameron said. “We also enjoyed spending the time together as a family and teaching our children about the responsibility we have to care for those in our community who are less fortunate.”
Capt. Ball encourages families, groups of friends, community organizations, churches and Sunday school classes to sign up as a “Bell Ringer for A Day.” The Salvation Army especially seeks groups large enough to work in shifts throughout am eight-hour day, such as Rotary, Lions or Elks clubs, youth groups, church groups and large employers.
Each Thanksgiving the Salvation Army Corps of San Bernardino serves about 500 people holiday meals. It serves almost as many meals on a daily basis to those who are homeless and hungry.
Feeding the hungry is just one of the ways money donated to The Salvation Army helps. Salvation Army Corps offers lodging for homeless or evicted families; clothing and furniture for burnout victims, and assistance with rent/mortgage, utilities and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in disasters such as fires.
In San Bernardino, The Hospitality House provides temporary emergency shelter and support in rebuilding the lives of thousands of homeless families.
To volunteer as a bellringer in San Bernardino, Colton, Rialto, Grand Terrace, Bloomington or Highland, call (909) 888-1336.
In addition, one may donate to The Salvation Army online, through the website www.salvationarmyusa.org. Donors may specify to which branch of The Salvation Army the money should be sent. How the Bell Ringer campaign began:
Capt. Joseph McFee, serving with the San Francisco Salvation Army Corps back in 1891, wanted to serve Christmas dinner to the poor in his neighborhood. But he didn’t have money to do so.
Mc Fee remembered as a sailor in Liverpool, England, seeing people on the docks throw money into a large kettle called “Simpson’s Pot” to help the poor. He decided this might work in California, too.
He set up a kettle at the Oakland Ferry Landing, which operated a ferry that was, in those days, the only way across San Francisco Bay. He put a sign on the kettle saying, “Keep the Pot Boiling” and raised enough money to serve the Christmas dinner.
His idea spread quickly, and by 1897 Salvation Army Corps nationwide were collecting money in kettles to serve the needy in their communities. Among The Salvation Army Corps collecting money this way before the turn of the 20th Century was The Salvation Army of San Bernardino, which formed in 1887. About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.
For local help, please call (909) 888-1336. http://news.yahoo.com/video/losangelescbs2-15750780#video=23100335
The Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps will serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, and needs people to donate food and time. As these youth have discovered, it is a great opportunity for a family or an organization to work together for the good of their community. Photo by Ricardo Tombac
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) This holiday season the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army plans a Thanksgiving dinner to help the needy families of the Inland Empire.
The San Bernardino Corps will serve dinner from 11 am to 1 pm on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25, at its Corps headquarters building, 746 W. Fifth St.
“We’re serving a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, vegetables and pie,” said Capt. Nancy Ball, Corps officer.
California State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod has donated some of the turkeys. The Inland Empire Job Corps is continuing its annual tradition of donating approximately 300 pies for the event.
“We still need lots of turkeys and lots of side dishes,” said Roosevelt Carroll, director of the Hospitality House and coordinator of the Thanksgiving dinner. “Whatever people have on their heart to donate, we need.”
The Salvation Army encourages donation of turkey or ham, side dishes and other food by calling (909) 888-1336 to make arrangements in advance, or to volunteer to help serve the Thanksgiving dinner.
The annual Thanksgiving meal brings in hundreds of families and individuals who do not have the means to provide themselves a Thanksgiving dinner. People come from all parts of the Inland Empire for the celebrations. The San Bernardino event has served close to 500.
The hungry families are joined by dozens of volunteers for the day who help prepare the food and serve meals to the families. An estimated 125 volunteers helped the San Bernardino Corps in 2009.
“Thanksgiving should be a special day for everyone, not just for those who can afford it,” says Capt. Ball.
Other Salvation Army Corps in the Inland Empire are also planning Thanksgiving dinners, although many of these will take place the day before Thanksgiving. To receive information about the dates and times for the dinners at other corps, or to volunteer please call 1800-SAL-ARMY or 1-800-725-2769. About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian church and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org <http://www.salvationarmyusa.org> or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY. For local help, please call (909) 888-1336.
