Many people only know of The Salvation Army from thrift stores and red kettles. Whether you know The Salvation Army as your church home or are new to what The Salvation Army does, here are 21 facts that you may not know about the faith-based nonprofit organization.

1. In addition to providing social services, The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church.

2. In areas where there is a Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC), Thrift Store proceeds contribute to services that are provided in the ARC, which is a place where men and women come for a six-month program to receive treatment and spiritual help to recover from drugs and alcohol addictions. It offers a long-term, faith-based residential program to those that need help getting reintegrated back into society.

3. There are 26 Kroc Centers throughout the United States. Kroc Centers are large-scale community centers designed to serve underserved communities with state-of-the-art facilities and programs.

4. The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth in London, England. William Booth was an ordained Methodist minister before he left to begin The Salvation Army.

5. In 1879, 16-year-old Lt. Eliza Shirley immigrated to Philadelphia, PA with her parents and was permitted by General William Booth to “start something along the lines” of The Salvation Army in America.

6. National Donut Day, celebrated on the first Friday of June, was started as a fundraiser for Chicago’s Salvation Army and to honor the Donut Girls of WWI.

7. The War Cry, the national magazine of The Salvation Army USA, is one of the oldest, continuously printed magazines in the United States. It started in 1881.

8. The Salvation Army’s first disaster response was in 1900, to the devastating hurricane in Galveston, TX that claimed more than 1,000 lives. Today, The Salvation Army responds to numerous natural disasters, transportation accidents, civil unrest situations and terrorist attacks. They also provide beverages, meals, and emotional and spiritual care to first responders and survivors.

9. The Salvation Army exists in 132 countries. In 1986, General Eva Burrows led The Salvation Army back into Eastern Europe, with work being re-established in the former East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Russia.

10. The Salvation Army began dispensing food and drinks near Ground Zero less than an hour after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers.

11. The song, “Silver Bells,” written by songwriters Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, got inspiration from Salvation Army bell ringers and originally wrote, “Tinkle Bells,” but later changed it to “Silver Bells,” the iconic Christmas song we all know and love.

12. The Salvation Army led in the formation of the USO (United Services Organization), which operates service units and serves members of the armed forces abroad.

13. The Salvation Army was originally named “The Christian Mission.” It ultimately changed to The Salvation Army to reach unbelieving working classes who had no interest in church-going and to serve all of humanity.

14. A Salvation Army officer is a man or woman who, following two years of training, is ordained and commissioned as a minister of the Christian faith.

15. Salvationists, or members of The Salvation Army, wear uniforms to identify the wearer as a member of the international movement and evangelical part of the universal Christian church.

“Our uniform was introduced so that the man in the street should know the Salvationist, so that the Salvationist, wherever he went, should be labeled as set apart for Jesus, marked as one eager to pray with and to help others,” said Lt. Colonel Allen Satterlee.

16. The Salvation Army’s formal social work in the UK originated in the 1880s. In 1884, the first Salvation Army rescue home that homed, fed, and clothed girls from the streets who had been converted.

17. The first Salvation Army camp was held in Kansas City, MO when 20 tents were pitched in Fairmont Park in the summer of 1897.

18. In 1885, The Maiden Tribute Campaign, in which The Salvation Army played a key role, was successful in raising the age of consent in England from 13 to 16, helping to protect young girls from trafficking. Florence Booth was a pioneer leader of The Salvation Army’s Women’s Social Services.

19. The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters is in London, England, where the General of The Salvation Army, the international leader of The Salvation Army, works and resides.

20. The first Salvation Army band was formed in 1878 by the Fry Family in England, who initially served as bodyguards for Salvation Army street preachers and began playing music to give them something to do.

21. In 1891, Captain Joseph McFee felt burdened by individuals going hungry on the streets of San Francisco and wanted to provide a free Christmas dinner. Thinking back to his days in Liverpool, England, he remembered the Simpson’s Pot, where passersby would toss a coin or two to help the needy. He set up a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing—the first Red Kettle that would become a staple in The Salvation Army.