86-year-old woman gives because she once received
Written by Elizabeth Reid, volunteer writer for The Salvation Army
Salvation Army donor Elaine, 86, recently celebrated a landmark anniversary: 43 years of giving to those helped by The Salvation Army.
The Anoka, Minn. resident gives to The Salvation Army because, long ago, she used to receive. Once dead-ended by joblessness and fear, Elaine is proud to provide others with the same life-changing Salvation Army services that empowered her as a young woman.
She first met The Salvation Army half a century ago in Minneapolis, soon after the company she was working for relocated. The company’s new location was outside of Elaine’s driving range, which was limited by her history of seizures. She lost her job.
“I didn’t have any money,” she said. “I was scared to death (to get a new job) because my memory wasn’t good because of my seizures and meds.”
Thankfully, word of mouth led Elaine to the Evangeline Residence for Women, a former Salvation Army housing facility located next to beautiful Loring Park in Minneapolis. (Today, near Loring Park, we operate a senior housing facility called Booth Manor.)
The Evangeline Residence provided affordable housing for women of all backgrounds, as described in the Minneapolis Salvation Army’s annual report from 1953:
Reasonable rates include a comfortable room, two meals a day (breakfast and dinner), facilities for laundry, reading rooms, lounges for entertaining guests. … About 80 percent of the girls are employed, usually as beginning workers in business and the professions. More than half the girls come from communities of less than 20,000 population, some out of state.
Elaine still recalls eating the free meals. She also remembers receiving a yearly Christmas gift, like the shoe bag once given to her for convenient transport of her indoor shoes while wearing boots outside.
“You were kind to young girls,” Elaine said of The Salvation Army.
Besides tangible resources, the Evangeline Residence gave Elaine opportunities to give back, including playing piano at weekly church services.
Ultimately, the Evangeline Residence gave Elaine the confidence she needed to overcome. Soon after moving in, she found a new job at a printing company, working as a typist.
“It took me longer to learn things, but I did very well once I did,” said Elaine, who went on to live at the Evangeline Residence for several years.
The Evangeline Residence also gave Elaine her best friend to date – Sharon, who was one of her roommates there. Today Elaine lives in a home that she chose for its close proximity to Sharon. The two are pictured in the photograph at top (Elaine, left), which was shot many years ago inside a photo booth at a Woolworths five-and-dime store.
When asked why she has given back to The Salvation Army for 43 years, Elaine’s answer was simple: “I believe in them. They do good.”
Decades later, empowering young people remains a key focus of The Salvation Army, as demonstrated in programs like our Booth Brown House youth housing facility and after-school and summer programs across the Twin Cities.
Please donate now and join Elaine in providing the same life-changing services to people like her younger self.