"This Is a 'Team Nebraska' Effort."
The brutal Arctic temperatures we’ve been experiencing in Nebraska and across the Midwest over the past week are no fun for anyone, but they are particularly dangerous for our homeless population -- which is why The Salvation Army’s Winter Night Watch program is more important than ever. Every year from December until March, Winter Night Watch provides more than 11,000 hot meals to Omaha’s homeless and near-homeless population via our two mobile food trucks, which make multiple stops around central and south Omaha to ensure we reach the greatest number of people possible on any given night.
What you might not know is that Winter Night Watch also distributes coats, hats, gloves, socks and blankets to people who struggle to stay warm when the temperature plummets. Thanks to a recent generous donation from PenFed Credit Union, our trucks will be well-stocked with warm outerwear to distribute for the rest of the season.
PenFed’s Community Relations Specialist Margie Smith put out the call to employees at the Papillion and Omaha branches and within days had collected $5,000 worth of coats, socks, blankets and winter accessories to donate to The Salvation Army’s Winter Night Watch program.
“When I served at Winter Night Watch, I got a rude awakening to the desperate need in our community,” said Smith. “I’m thankful to The Salvation Army for giving us the opportunity to collect these items and a place to drop them off.”
PenFed has partnered with The Salvation Army in this effort for the past nine years. “This is a ‘Team Nebraska’ effort, and we are so proud to be part of the generosity, the compassion and the love that The Salvation Army has for our community,” said Smith. “We are all here on Earth to take care of each other. The Salvation Army and PenFed do that; that’s what were all about.”
To learn more about the Winter Night Watch program or to sign up to volunteer, visit our webpage or email Melissa Figueroa.