There To Serve In Life's Storms

Hurricane Issac, most recently "Tropical Storm Issac" steadily chugs towards the Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana coast line. News coverage reports that its path is strangely similar to that of Hurricane Katrina which devastated the state of Louisiana in 2005. 

That Salvation Army is prepared and ready to serve the residents of these states who may be affected by the storm. Disaster Relief Service has been a mainstay of the many programs and services rendered by The Salvation Army to those in need. The Salvation Army's very first foray into disaster relief in the United States came after the massive hurricane that destroyed Galveston, TX in 1900 and killed over 5,000 people. 

For the past 112 years The Salvation Army has been serving the victims of natural and man-made disasters. As of right now, The Salvation Army is staging 24 mobile feeding units called "Canteens" in Mississippi, each capable of serving 1,000 meals a day. Also, a massive 54' mobile field kitchen (shown above), capable of serving up to 10,000 meals a day is being readied for deployment. These units will be deployed across Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana as needed once the full impact of the storm is known. 

In addition to feeding, The Salvation Army is prepared to provide: 
· Clean-up kits containing brooms, mops, buckets and cleaning supplies 
· Hygiene kits 
· Drinking water 
· Shower units 
· First-aid supplies 
· Emotional/spiritual care 

The Salvation Army encourages all residents of areas in the storm’s path to prepare an Emergency supply kit and stay informed to all warnings. Disaster response professionals recommend having a three to five day supply of food and water for each individual of your family as well as flashlights, medication, and battery powered radio. 
For more information regarding The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Service program please visit www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. 

The Salvation Army asks people who want to help those affected by the 2012 Hurricane Season to visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

Donors may also contribute $10 via their phone bill by text messaging the word “Storm” to 80888, and confirming the donation with the word,“Yes.”

Checks may be made out to The Salvation Army Disaster Relief, PO BOX 1959 Atlanta, GA 30301. Please designate “2012 Hurricane Season” on all checks.

About The Salvation Army 
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 128 years in the United States. Nearly 29 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 83 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org. 

Goodbye Summer...Hello Fall

Its been a busy, busy Summer here at The Salvation Army Waynesboro, VA Corps. Thanks to the generous  donations of our community 20 children in need were able to attend The Salvation Army's Camp Happyland at no cost. Our great friends at the Waynesboro Kiwanis Club were a huge help by donating $1,000 towards the Camp Happyland Fundraising Appeal.

Our inaugural Kid's Day Camp was a great success with an average of 15-20 kids per week joining our youth staff for fun, crafts, music, and Bible classes. This day camp was offered free of charge and we are thankful for supporters in the community that made this effort a success especially Zeus Digital Theaters who  graciously hosted our Kid's Day Campers.

With so many children heading to their bus stops this morning we are mindful that there are those in our community who need help outfitting their children for school. The days of a notebook, pencil, and backpack being all the required goods for school is over.  It is increasingly expensive to provide the required school supplies for children these days. Recognizing the need, the United Way of Greater Augusta and The Salvation Army partnered together for this year's Stuff The Bus. Over $35,000 worth of school supplies were donated! In Waynesboro, The Salvation Army provided 229 backpacks full of school supplies to families in need just in time for school to start this week, but that's not all. With the help of another great community partner, Target, The Salvation Army in Waynesboro was able to take 10 deserving children in need on a back to school shopping spree. All together, $800 worth of school supplies and clothing were donated by Target for our local youth. Nationwide, 11,700 children from The Salvation Army were able to shop for back to school supplies with $9,360,000 donated by Target. We are proud to count Target as a partner in Waynesboro.

Children have always been at the heart of The Salvation Army's mission to preach the Gospel of Christ and meet human suffering. The Waynesboro/Eastern Augusta County community has been so gracious and supportive of our mission. We are appreciative of every dollar, hour of volunteering, and donation of goods to our Family Store.

As we gear up for the school season, Fall, and eventually Christmas The Salvation Army has tirelessly worked on behalf of those in need in our community. We will continue to do so, but we need your help!

Looking ahead we need from our supporters:

• Donations of unexpired food for our Food Pantry. 
• Donations of gently used clothing and furniture for our Family Store @ 246 Arch Avenue. 
• Volunteers to man our Red Kettles starting November 9, 2012.
• Any monetary donations. Every dollar and cent can make a difference. Checks can be mailed to:

The Salvation Army

PO Box 1065

Waynesboro, VA, 22980

or 

online at www.salvationarmywaynesborova.org

Again, thank you for all your wonderful support. 

Lt. John Blevins, Jr. 

jb_blevins@uss.salvationarmy.org

Corps Officer

Waynesboro, VA

A Time to Appreciate....

Ecclesiastes Ch. 3 tells us that there is a time for just about everything..."a time to live...a time to laugh....a time to embrace". Well today at The Salvation Army we feel that it is a time to appreciate. The Salvation Army is so well known for its Christmas activities such as the Red Kettle Campaign and Angel Trees ,as well as Family Thrift Stores, that it is easy to overlook the year round services provided here in Waynesboro.

Did you know that since October 2011, The Salvation Army in Waynesboro has provided 806 meals, given away 4,225 pieces of bread, danish, and snacks to hungry families, provided 41 food baskets (non-Christmas), helped 341 families keep their utilities on, helped 106 families keep a roof over their head, and assisted a total of 1,094 men, women, and children?

At Christmas alone over 1,200 individuals are assisted with food and precious children afforded a Merry Christmas. None of this magically happens on its own. The dedicated staff at The Salvation Army rely on the generosity of this great community to accomplish these efforts.

We publicly thank groups like the Waynesboro Rotary, Kiwanis Club, Hershey Chocolate, Sheetz, Ntelos, Dupont Community Credit Union, Victory Worship, Augusta Health, McKee Foods, Mountain Valley Corporation, WHSV TV 3, NBC 29, and so many more for their support.

We thank our faithful and consistent donors who place their trust in The Salvation Army by giving of their hard earned financial resources. We thank our city leaders who support the work and mission of The Salvation Army.

In truth, there are so many people that The Salvation Army appreciates for them all to be named here but it should be said that this is a season to appreciate!

Again, a huge thank you to our community who make our mission possible.

God Bless You!

The Salvation Army
Waynesboro, VA 

PGI gives back.

PGI gives back

Blanketed with Generosity

Today representatives from the Waynesboro PGI (Polymer Group Incorporated) plant donated 200 blankets to the W.A.R.M. (Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry) and The Salvation Army Waynesboro Corps. These blankets are formed from a space age material specially developed by PGI for medical and disaster relief uses. 50 were donated to W.A.R.M and 150 to The Salvation Army.

These blankets will be used for diaster relief and warming the homeless. We thank the PGI staff for their generosity and support.

God Bless You,

Summer is coming!



It seems Spring is at our door and Summer is right around the corner. For many children Summer brings endless mornings to sleep in, play sports with friends, ride bikes, and so much more. Unfortunately, for many children in our community Summer means uncertainty about steady meals, baby sitting younger siblings while mom is at work, and unsupervised roaming. Families are struggling to make ends meet let alone thinking about providing summer day care or attending summer day camps. These activities are expensive for any family and impossible for single job families or unemployed parents. I say all of this because The Salvation Army has a plan!

Children have always been at the heart of our ministry. In Virginia, The Salvation Army maintains beautiful Camp Happyland located outside of Fredericksburg, VA. 200+ acres of first class camping/conference facilities with renovated cabins, a pool, lake with paddle boats, dining facility, educational buildings, a nature center and so much more. Camp Happyland's mission to provide a safe and secure Christian environment for at risk and needy children all across the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia. It has a first class staff of  Christian young people and college students, experienced Camp Directors, professional dining staff, and even a full time Registered Nurse. Camp Happyland is ACA (American Camping Association) Accredited which means that it adheres to the most strict safety and staffing measures in the camping industry. Every year thousands of children attend through The Salvation Army to Camp Happyland for a one week residential camping program that allows children to be children. The best part is that tuition and transportation are almost always provided at no cost to the families of children that attend. That is fantastic news for parents in need.

Camp is a wonderful opportunity for a child. I believe in The Salvation Army and its camping program. I attended The Salvation Army's Camp Tomahawk in West Virginia as a child, my parents served as Camp Directors of a Salvation Army camp, and I also served on staff for 8 Summers as a high school and college student at Camp Tomahawk. I have seen children's lives changed by the experience, a experience to forget the cares of the world they come from all just to be a child. I was changed by my experiences at camp. I ask you to consider providing a child an opportunity to just be a kid for a little longer before the world forces them to grow up too fast.

In Waynesboro, The Salvation Army provides this opportunity for 25 children in need. In order for us to do so we need generous minded members of the community to sponsor a child at $150 for one week of sun soaked fun at Camp Happyland. Those interested can contact me at jb_blevins@uss.salvationarmy.org

God Bless You!

Do Not Be Troubled!



“[Praise to the God of All Comfort] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV

Life comes with all sorts of troubles. Here at The Salvation Army we are usually introduced to families and individuals when life has handed them some sort of trouble. Financial, domestic, emotional, physical, and spiritual trouble abound send these folks to seek refuge at The Salvation Army. The scripture verse above tells us that we have a personal God who is not only interested in our troubles but compassionate to comfort us.

 The Salvation Army's social ministry is an extension of our spiritual ministry. We serve others because we serve the Living God; not for our benefit and glory but for His. We comfort those in trouble with what resources we have, but God is the ultimate comforter and we can only comfort others because of the love and comfort that Christ has shown to us. Our social service ministry is our testimony to God's goodness. In The Salvation Army there can be no social ministry without spiritual ministry and there can be no spiritual ministry without social ministry.

I call on our supporters to continue to help enable us to "Do the Most Good". We need your time, talent, and resources to help make a difference. If The Salvation Army is successful in Waynesboro it is only because of obedience to the Lord and your support.

Thank You and may God bless you richly,