The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross, two of the nation’s largest nonprofits, recognize that these historic grants will better position each organization to help people struggling to cope with record-breaking hurricanes, other extreme storms and massive wildfires. Both organizations are often among the first on the ground during a crisis, and together they serve millions of people in need every year—especially the most vulnerable who are often disproportionately affected by climate disasters.

The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army will use the grants to significantly increase their capacity to respond to large concurrent disasters, especially in communities that face recurring threats. The organizations will improve facilities and the use of technology to better engage with national and local partners, increase the diversity of their staffs and volunteers to better serve individuals in need, and strengthen the ways they train and deploy staff and volunteers to improve effectiveness and curb worker burnout. 

“The profound generosity of Lilly Endowment will enable The Salvation Army to expand its capacity to serve people in need all across the country at moments of profound crisis,” said Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder, the National Commander of The Salvation Army. “The generous grant to The Salvation Army represents hope for vulnerable Americans, and we are committed to investing the funds in the most efficient and effective ways possible.” 

While serving on the frontlines of disasters, The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross work as close partners, often providing complementary services based on the size and scope of the disaster.

“With their national reach and immense networks of dedicated staff and volunteers, the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army have for generations stepped up to provide aid and leadership in times of crisis. In virtually every natural and man-made disaster, they provide direct assistance and help coordinate efforts with governmental agencies, faith-based organizations, other nonprofits and countless individual volunteers,” said N. Clay Robbins, chairman and CEO of Lilly Endowment. “These grants are intended to bolster the long-term capacity and effectiveness of these essential organizations and not to support the needs arising from a specific disaster,” added Robbins. To read more, visit bit.ly/peermag-disaster-grant —Report by The Salvation Army

So What?

For The Salvation Army, plans for this grant include increasing warehousing capacity by at least 200,000 square feet in strategic locations to improve mobilization to areas frequently impacted by disasters and building warehouse infrastructure to receive, sort and distribute disaster supplies. 

This grant will also aid in recruiting and training 20,000 volunteers that represent the communities served by The Salvation Army by developing accessible and engaging disaster training course. It will also improve the emergency disaster services fleet to respond with greater agility to disasters and improve response to marginalized or under-resourced communities. 

To stay up-to-date on Emergency Disaster Services, visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.

Echelon Member Spotlight: Fabi Soto

Fabi Soto is the Young Adult & Missions Ministries Coordinator for The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Youth Department. In the summer of 2021, Fabi joined the Echelon Morristown chapter in Morristown, NJ. For her, her favorite part about being an Echelon member includes gathering with other like-minded young adults who want to make a difference in the community.

The event she’s most proud of so far is the chapter’s Kettle Takeover this past December. “I love doing kettles and bringing that Christmas cheer to others,” says Fabi. “It’s awesome to see the other members get involved and know we are raising funds that will help our community.” 

Making a difference with other young adults in your community is everything, says Fabi. “I love being part of the meetings where we envision what we can do to be part of what is happening at the corps and how we can raise funds to create more impact.” 

Prospective members can get involved by attending the annual mixer to get to know the chapter. “I think the best way to get involved is to reach out to us via social media or email and to join us for our annual mixer meeting where people get the chance to know who we are and what we do.” 

To stay up-to-date on the Echelon Morristown chapter, follow on Instagram @echelon_morristown.

Red Kettle Popcorn

The Jonas Brothers released their beloved popcorn brand, Rob’s Backstage Popcorn, to the world in 2021 on their “Remember This” tour, and in December 2022, partnered with The Salvation Army to produce a limited-edition flavor, Rob’s Kettle Corn. This partnership follows the Jonas Brothers’ live halftime performance at the Thanksgiving Day Dallas Cowboys game. 

The kettlecorn partnership kicked off The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. 100 percent of the proceeds generated by this limited edition launch will be donated to The Salvation Army to support the organization in doing the most good. 

Additionally, Rob’s Backstage Popcorn donated 100,000 bags of popcorn to The Salvation Army and other food banks across the U.S. The donated bags were distributed to families and community members facing food insecurity. 

To learn more about Rob’s Popcorn, follow @RobsPopcorn on Instagram. For more information on how you can help The Salvation Army do the most good, visit salvationarmyusa.org.

#SARegen23

The Central Territory Youth Department is hosting a young adults conference, Regeneration, for young adults within The  Salvation Army in the Central Territory. For those ages 18-29, this event will be held on February 17-19 at Wonderland Camp & Conference Center in Camp Lake, WI. 

The conference, “Regeneration,” is focusing on Jeremiah 29:4-14 to encourage young adults “to wholeheartedly seek God and trust His plans for a future and a hope, even when circumstances are temporary and imperfect.” It allows the young adults to root themselves in Christ so that they can go out and influence the world for generations to come. 

Guest speakers include Candice Wynn, a youth and next generation/family pastor in the Southeast USA, and Tim Reddick, a musical director in Atlanta. 

For more information, follow @centralyouthnetwork on Instagram.