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The Salvation Army is supporting your local community through coronavirus.
Please help us serve those impacted by this global health crisis.
The coronavirus outbreak is officially a pandemic touching every corner of our society here in America and around the globe. There are many unknowns that leave people searching for answers. As leaders in the fight against poverty, The Salvation Army stands ready to help people in both the short and long-term battle against the devastating effects this pandemic has already brought on our community.
Ensuring the safety of those who depend on The Salvation Army’s programs and services, along with the safety of staff and volunteers, is of utmost priority. We are working with health officials at the local, state, and federal levels – including participating in situation-awareness calls with federal partners such as FEMA, CDC, DHS, and HHS. Hygiene and prevention guidance in accordance with recommendations from the CDC is being used and shared with staff, volunteers, and program participants.
Regardless of testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, this pandemic is affecting lives at every level of our society. The Salvation Army is ready to offer assistance in the form of food pantry service for families living paycheck to paycheck, emergency assistance for anyone who has seen their hours reduced or cut, and emotional and spiritual care for anyone feeling overwhelmed in the face of this on-going crisis.
In Kansas and Western Missouri, The Salvation Army has 21 corps locations ready to assist with mortgage and rent payments, utility bills, and other needs to keep a family together in their home. For more information, you can visit a location near you.
Here is a list of everything we are doing in the Kansas and Western Missouri Division, today and every day.
Emergency Assistance
If you have been impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our COVID-19 Emergency Assistance page to find out how to apply.
Food Pantry Services
In accordance with federal and local government guidelines, we are limiting the pantry choice at many of our locations. If you are in need of pantry service, please call your local corps, and the staff will be happy to set up a pick-up time of a pre-packed box of food for you.
Family Shelters and Residential Treatment Facilities
In our family shelters and other residential treatment facilities, we are undertaking additional cleaning throughout the day, with an elevated focus on high-traffic areas, and sanitation supplies are part of every location’s infectious-disease protocol. Visitors are discouraged.
Emergency Disaster Services
Our EDS Honk n Holler Canteen is on the streets in and around downtown Kansas City three nights a week, providing meals and outreach to people struggling with homelessness in our community.
EDS volunteers are also on standby in the event of any severe weather or other emergencies that should strike in the Kansas and Western Missouri Division.
Support for Other Agencies
In Kansas City, we will partner with some school districts who need assistance feeding children who are out of class. In Topeka, we are providing three daily lunch deliveries to three locations in the city. In all of our communities, we stand ready to assist in whatever way necessary to ease the burden on other agencies.
EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL CARE HOTLINE
We want you to know you are not alone, not now, not ever. If you need someone to talk to, Emotional and Spiritual Care chaplains are standing by to talk to you 24/7. Just call 816-968-0497 or WePray@usc.salvationarmy.org for someone to talk to, to cry with, or to pray with.
WORSHIP SERVICES
In accordance with guidelines from the CDC and local mandates, we have temporarily suspended in-person worship at many of our corps locations. However, we are streaming services live on Facebook, including on The Salvation Army Kansas and Western Division Facebook page.
OTHER DIVISION EVENTS
We have taken the pro-active step to cancel the following Divisional events. We will keep everyone updated on potential make-up dates as they become available.
April 4 - Divisional Band and Music School
April 10 - KC Metro, Wichita, all Corps Good Friday Services
April 17-19 - Youth Councils (new date in the fall is possible)
May 1-3 - Women's Ministries Retreat
May 9 - Divisional Band and Music School
May 21 - 2020 Civic Lunch (Rescheduled to May 18, 2021)
June & July - All Summer Camps
YOUR DONATION CAN HELP SUPPORT THIS COMMUNITY IN ITS TIME OF NEED
Please give a gift today, because hope is greater than fear.
Your donation of physical items can provide help, too.
Please click here for complete details on what is needed.
Please check here for the latest news updates from the Kansas and Western Missouri and The Salvation Army National and International Headquarters and leadership.
We are providing a number of feeding programs in communities across the division.
In Independence, Mo. children from the Independence School District are coming to the corps this week to receive grab-and-go lunches. Major Brian Burkett and staff are handing out the meals to more than 130 children each day. They are also providing door-to-door meal service to the apartment complex that is next door to the corps building, handing out an additional 90 meals.
In Salina, the corps is providing three meal services, six days a week, Monday thru Saturday. Families can walk up to receive a to-go-meal for everyone in their household. Captain Lynn Lopez and her team are feeding more than 185 people a day.
In Lawrence, our canteen is hitting the downtown area three days a week to provide a free lunch to anyone in need of a meal. Already, they've provided more than 300 meals to people in the community.
In Topeka, the corps started delivering meals to apartment complexes in the city at the start of Spring Break and have continued now that classes in Kansas are canceled for the rest of the school year. The dedicated team has handed out more than 800 meals to keep kids fed.
