How To Give Hope To Thousands of North Dakotans Impacted by COVID-19
This coming week, The Salvation Army is asking North Dakotans to join the Fight for Good by providing hope and help to those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the thousands of North Dakotans experiencing urgent need, The Salvation Army is their first stop for help.
In response to this crisis, the Salvation Army Northern Division has been providing food (77,000 meals/snacks and 19,000 boxes of groceries), safe shelter (35,000 nights of lodging), and emotional and spiritual support (6,000 individuals helped), as well as youth programs, financial assistance and hygiene kits in almost every county in North Dakota and Minnesota. With increased demand for aid expected to continue over the coming weeks, months, and potentially years, ongoing public support will be needed to ensure basic necessities are fulfilled with compassion and dignity.
The Greatest Need Is Now
There are two quick and convenient opportunities to help provide relief to those impacted by this unprecedented crisis. The first is through the Helping Hearts campaign (from the same people who bring you Giving Hearts Day each February), running currently. It’s designed to help organizations like The Salvation Army who are on the front lines providing aid to those most affected by the outbreak. Simply go to dmfhelpinghearts.org, search for “Salvation Army,” and select your nearest service center to help change lives for the better.
Also planned for this Tuesday, May 5, is Giving Tuesday Now, a national movement to raise needed funds in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis. To give a gift directly to The Salvation
Army Northern Division, where funds provide relief for North Dakota neighbors in need, visit www.SalvationArmyNorth.org/covid19.
The Greatest Hope is Now
Recently, The Salvation Army Northern Division received a gift with a handwritten note from an senior citizen named Pat. She wrote, “I’m sending you my stimulus check. I know that you will spend it locally to help local people. Thank you for all the good you do for our area community.” Sometimes it takes a crisis to really give people an opportunity to shine. Helping Hearts and Giving Tuesday Now provides two such opportunities—ones that can give hope to those who have lost it, and provide help to those who need it.
“The scope of this pandemic is nothing like the typical disaster scenario we respond to—it’s a pandemic that combines an unprecedented health crisis with issues of hunger, housing and opioid epidemics,” said Lt. Colonel Lonneal Richardson, commander of The Salvation Army Northern Division. “As the largest non-profit social service provider in the country, we know how critically important it is to provide access to basic necessities like food and shelter. But they also need the coping mechanisms we provide to manage the emotional strain they’re facing. Hope is what gets us through even the darkest of days.”
To donate, volunteer, or learn more about The Salvation Army Northern Division response to the COVID-19 crisis, visit www.SalvationArmyNorth.org/covid19.
The Salvation Army Northern Division annually helps 325,000 people overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardship through a range of social services, meeting human needs without discrimination. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army Northern Division is #DoingTheMostGood at 59 operation centers in North Dakota and Minnesota. For more information about The Salvation Army Northern Division, please visit SalvationArmyNorth.org.