Donations in Action: Right place, right time
Donations in Action is a regular series about how your gifts to The Salvation Army Northern Division help people and families in Minnesota and North Dakota. The stories below provide examples of how our staff, volunteers, donors, and partners are making a positive impact during these uncertain times.
Please join us by giving a donation. Your gift will provide food, shelter and care for people most in need.
Right place, right time
A few weeks ago, one of our caseworkers was in the right place, at the right time, to help a young woman realize her dream.
The woman is a regular at one of our local hot lunch programs, where she and the caseworker often talk and pray together. Recently, their conversations have centered around the woman’s dream of moving into her very own apartment.
Just before Christmas, the caseworker found the woman in the lobby of The Salvation Army, crying, just before the facility was about to close. The woman was frantic because she had found the perfect apartment to live in, but she had no way to print several pages of her application before the deadline passed.
“There was no way I was going to let her leave without getting what she needed,” the caseworker said. “We’d all been rooting for her to get an apartment.”
The women left The Salvation Army with the necessary paperwork and was able to move into her new home. She was grateful for the help.
“We let her know that we will always be here for her,” the caseworker said.
Goodbye, diabetes
A single mother recently credited The Salvation Army’s food shelf in Burnsville for helping her achieve a medical milestone: She is no longer prediabetic.
The mother was diagnosed with prediabetes last year. Doctors advised her to eat heathier foods to reverse the condition.
One problem: “Eating healthy is expensive,” the mother told us, adding that she never has extra money to spend.
Thankfully, this mother has been able to get all of the healthy foods she needs at her local Salvation Army food shelf – including fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and dairy products. She said the food shelf is the main reason she was able to reverse her prediabetes.
In addition to healthy foods, the mother and her kids also receive clothing at The Salvation Army. The mother said her daughter looks forward to every visit because The Salvation Army has the “coolest fashions.”
The family refers to The Salvation Army as “The Peace Place.”
Comfort during terrible times
Last month we helped a mother through her worst nightmare: Her daughter had died, and she needed to travel to Louisiana to identify the body.
Our caseworker stepped into action, using money from a Salvation Army emergency crisis fund to secure bus transportation for the mother.
“Throughout this time, we were also able to provide emotional and spiritual support for this mother,” the caseworker said.
Additionally, The Salvation Army sponsored the family for Christmas, providing food and gifts during an unimaginably difficult time in their lives.
“It was awesome to be able to support this family,” the caseworker said.
Please join The Salvation Army by giving a donation or signing up to volunteer. Your help will provide food, shelter and care for people and families in desperate need.