Central Rotarian Jim Evers introduced local Salvation Army Lieutenants Marisa and Matthew McCluer by describing the Salvation Army as an “amazing organization.”
Jim, who was a volunteer on the Salvation Army board before becoming development director for the group in Lawrence, has high praise for the work the Army does.
The McCluers described the history of the Army which started in the 1800s in England and came to Lawrence in 1886.
“It started out,” Matthew McCluer said “as an evangelical part of the universal Christian church, preaching the gospel outside of churches in order to get people back into churches.”
But then, he said, it didn’t do much good to send people into churches when they were hungry with no place to live. So the Salvation Army began to focus on more than just preaching. “The credo became ‘soup, soap, and salvation.’ ”
Salvation Army help has always been individual as well as general. After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, the then director of the Army (and daughter of the founder) gave the organization’s entire budget to help recovery. After the 9/11 disaster, Salvation Army members provided shelter and comfort to recovery workers, giving them places to rest and taking care of their feet, sore from walking through the burning rubble.
Marisa said the Salvation Army helped her family when she was a child and she was anxious to continue the work.
In Lawrence, the Salvation Army’s weekly food program serves about 12,000 meals a year. Special Services provides what people need when they need it. “But we don’t just serve as a band-aid,” Marisa said. “We want people to have a plan to break their cycle of poverty.
“We collaborate with other agencies. For instance we work with United Way to help get kids back into school and provide what they need.”
During the holidays they work with numerous community agencies to help the approximately 700 families who need assistance. Saying the Christmas donations provide 30 percent of their yearly budget, they thanked Rotarians for donating and for ringing bells during the holiday season.
The Mcluer’s passed out a flier that has all the upcoming Salvation Army events that volunteers are needed for. Take a look and help a great local organization.
