This past October, Echelon held their second symposium at The Salvation Army National Headquarters. Echelon leaders across the nation gathered to learn how to equip and engage members to grow their chapters. 

At the symposium, attendees participated in a fulfilling and impactful service event, packing welcome baskets full of hygiene and cleaning items, toys for children and other essential household items for incoming individuals and families at two Salvation Army ministries local to Washington, D.C.  The Turning Point Center is a transitional housing program that provides case management and life skills courses for young single mothers. The Railton Residence is another transitional housing program designed for men who have graduated from The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center but are not quite yet ready to live independently.  

“One of the main tenets of Echelon chapters is service to their community,” said Madi Maruna, president of Echelon Cleveland. “It’s really important for us to have a service component to make sure that we are living our own values.”  

Echelon members are active with The Salvation Army in their own communities, mobilizing the next generation of leaders.

By Bianca Bakonyi

Echelon Gala

On September 15, 2023, the Echelon Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) chapter hosted its annual Echelon gala, this year at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. The event is in its 11th year. 

This event celebrated the chapter’s year of fundraising and volunteering for The Salvation Army, but also thanked the donors for their generosity this past year. In attendance were Salvation Army leaders, Echelon presidents and Echelon DFW members. The Dallas Adult Rehabilitation Center provided the music along with other musical groups. 

Echelon seeks to mobilize the next generation for The Salvation Army by providing opportunities for young adults to engage with the organization through fellowship and networking, donations and fundraising, and service and volunteering. 

 To learn more about Echelon, click here.

Love Beyond A Grilled Cheese Sandwich

When a fire displaces you from your home, meeting the dietary needs of a special needs child can be difficult. This was certainly the case for recent disaster survivors who saw an apartment fire in Bloomington, IN displace them and 40 of their neighbors. The Salvation Army of Bloomington was called to provide lunch and dinner for those recently displaced survivors. When serving lunch, we became aware of a special needs child who will only eat grilled cheese. The family, frazzled from a night of fire engines, smoke and confusion shared, “All we have ever been able to get him to eat is grilled cheese. How are we going to do this?” 

As we met families, now staying in hotels, with dinner for that evening, we were prepared with grilled cheese and a bit of hope. Sometimes all people need is an Army who is willing to come alongside in a moment of need and answer the question with “We will do this together.” 

For us, we believe this is how we live out our mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in His name without discrimination, loving beyond a grilled cheese sandwich.

By Captain Vinal Lee

Love Beyond with LifNav

The Salvation Army in Tennessee is hard at work at loving beyond. In 2019, The Salvation Army in Nashville started the “LifNav” street outreach program to reach out to homeless individuals and families in the area and provide them with much-needed basic resources. After a devastating tornado and COVID-19 lockdowns in March 2020, The Salvation Army in Nashville continued to expand and provide these services using the “LifNav” app. 

“This app was a great addition to our tool belts, especially at the onset of the pandemic,” says Jesse Call, Program Director of LifNav at The Salvation Army Nashville Area Command. Users can book appointments with outreach workers, find information on sites and times of meal services, and check out other links and resources in the community. 

 To learn more about the “LifNav” app, visit bit.ly/lifnav-peer.