Friday, January 29, 2010

Meet Mr. Harry - Salvation Army Food Pantry Volunteer

With our continuing focus on hunger and The Salvation Army programs that help fight hunger, food pantries, serving meals, and passing out snack bags, you can’t help but wonder who the people are behind our programs.



Meet Mr. Harry.











Mr. Harry is a faithful food pantry volunteer at The Salvation Army in McKinney.

For the past five years, every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 – noon, Mr. Harry volunteers in the pantry. He organizes and restocks shelves, and bags groceries to pass out to people in need. He says he is passing out grocery bags to 10-15 families per day and the family size can vary from a single adult to a family with eight children.

Working with groceries is not new to Mr. Harry. He has worked at and managed several grocery stores for more than fifty years. After retiring he felt God calling him to volunteer, so he went to The Salvation Army in McKinney to find out how he could help.

“A few weeks after expressing the interest in volunteering, the Corps’ officers called to tell me they could use my help in the food pantry,” Mr. Harry said.

Having experience working in a grocery store was a plus, so he knew the volunteer job would not be too difficult. But, in his new volunteer role at The Salvation Army he was eager to do something more than just hand out food.

“The volunteer position allows me to meet new people and hand out bags of food but, more importantly, to offer to pray with the people that come in,” Mr. Harry said.

“Sometimes I see single moms crying because they are so happy to receive food that will feed her and her children.”

On Mr. Harry’s desk is a printed copy of the scripture verse Isaiah 53 from the Bible. Harry accepted the Lord into his life in his mid-forties, and he says it is never too late for someone to know Christ.


Sadly, this will be Mr. Harry’s last week volunteering with The Salvation Army in McKinney. He will be relocating to Las Vegas, NV to be closer to his family. He says that when he gets settled into his new routine, he may look for opportunities to volunteer at The Salvation Army there.

He credits God’s timing in all of this as he has found a volunteer replacement, Mr. Gary.

Mr. Gary is eager to start volunteering and is most excited about meeting new people.

"People are important,” Mr. Gary says.


“It does not cost anything to be nice to people.”

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Lewisville Leader News: New program pulls the community together

During the past few weeks at The Salvation Army DFW, we have been talking about hunger in the community.

Unfortunately, hunger has become more prevalent in our community during these difficult economic times. The Salvation Army in Lewisville is being proactive on this issue, by going into their community to pass out "snack bags".

Through this program, The Salvation Army Lewisville is not only feeding more people, but they are building relationships with the people in need.

Read what the Lewisville Leader is saying about The Salvation Army Lewisville's new program: Star Local News Lewisville Leader News New program pulls the community together

Good job, staff and volunteers at The Salvation Army in Lewisville! This new program is a further reminder that The Salvation Army is doing tough work, for the cause of transforming lives.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Earthquake in Haiti Leaves Major Devastation

Haiti government officials estimate 500,000 people could be dead from Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake.

Since 1950, The Salvation Army has been working in Haiti and currently has 45 primary schools that serve more than 10,000 children daily, two clinics and a hospital, two children's home, feeding programs, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment projects.

The Salvation Army has responded immediately to the earthquake in
Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

Help Haitian quake survivors by donating to The Salvation Army.

www.salvationarmyusa.org

Call:
1-800-SAL-ARMY

By mail:
The Salvation Army
Haiti Earthquake Relief
PO Box 36006
Dallas, TX 75235

Thursday, January 7, 2010

It's a New Year... Focus on Food!

While some people are focused on eating healthy, cutting back on calories, and trying to lose a few pounds this New Year, other people are wondering where their next meal will come from.

The Salvation Army DFW wants to make sure that no one in the Metroplex will go hungry. With the start of the New Year, let’s focus on food and help feed families in need!

Here are some ideas how you can help feed the hungry….

1. SHOP - Next time you are at your local grocery store, pick up a few additional canned food items and drop them off at your nearest Salvation Army center.

2. DONATEMake an online donation. Did you know you can make an online donation in honor of someone?

3. FOOD DRIVELooking for an exciting project? Hold a food drive for your company, your Sunday school class, or maybe for your child’s school. Make it into a friendly competition to see who can raise the most food.

4. VOLUNTEERVolunteer to feed the homeless at a Salvation Army shelter. Nothing is more gratifying than helping someone in need.

Feed the hungry. Change a life.