Page 8 - OnThePath.Oct.2017

8 – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2017 – El Dorado NEWS-TIMES
The Salvation Army
Operating 365 days a year in El Dorado
Charles and Teri Smith
LFieutenants of The Salvation Army
or many in the United States, when one hears the words, The Salvation Army, people tend to think
of bells ringing at a Kettle stand or helping someone shop for an Angel picked off from their Angel Tree© at a Walmart or Hobby Lobby store, but The Salvation Army operates 365 days a year in El Dorado and the officers, Lt. Charles and Teri Smith, can confirm that. Ever since The Salvation Army “opened fire” in the city of El Dorado in December 1922; it continues with the mis- sion to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in His Name without discrimination. They do this through a holistic approach, whether that is through having a meal in our Murphy Red Shield Diner to receiving a cloth- ing voucher; to having help with utility assistance or being able to attend a worship service in our Chapel on a Sunday. The Salvation Army desires to make an impact in the lives of men, women, boys and girls and to win their souls for the Kingdom of God. It was recently that Lt. Teri Smith had returned from being deployed to Corpus Christi, Texas for two weeks to help those individuals and families who have been displaced by Hurricane Harvey; since she has returned, plans have gone into motion con- cerning Christmas and the Angel Tree program© that provide cloth- ing, shoes and toys to children
It is under Lt. Charles Smith’s guidance, that churches, civic groups, businesses and even fami- lies can volunteer to ring the bell at the Christmas Kettle stands outside of stores to help raise the necessary funds to operate not only during Christmas, but through the lean months of the year as well.
It is through the Red Kettle Campaign© that The Army has
Helping hands: Salvation Army commanding officers, Teri and Charles Smith, have dedicated their lives to the organiza- tion, helping the homeless and less fortunate in El Dorado in any way they can.
the ability to operate their pro- grams at Christmas and through- out the year. All money donated to the Red Kettles goes to sup- port programs and services in the area. Between 40 and 50 per- cent of all public support for The Salvation Army comes during the critical holiday season (October, November and December), under- scoring the importance of the Red Kettle Campaign to allow us to ful- fill our mission of meeting human needs the whole year through. It is important for the residents to be aware of those families right here who face the prospect of a very dif- ficult Christmas season, struggling to meet basic needs and have a joy- ful Christmas.
One of the newer programs that has started at The Salvation Army is the CSFP, “Commodity Senior Food Program,” which is an aid and income-based commodities pro-
gram geared for adults 60 years old and up with qualifying income. It helps to supplement those seniors
See SALVATION, Page 9
Kaitlyn Rigdon/News-Times
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