Showing love above all else, The Salvation Army will once again kick-off its annual giving campaign, Love Beyond. The iconic fundraising campaign will provide an opportunity for the organization’s supporters to give a gift, which will go back into the local community, supporting those who need to be shown love, every day.
“Love Beyond speaks of our motivation to serve our community not just at Christmas, but year-round. So often, people in the community think of The Salvation Army and the work they do at Christmas time, but the reality is we are meeting needs every day of the year. We are not here for just one moment of crises, we are here for the everyday needs,” said Major Stan Senak, officer at The Salvation Army Dayton Kroc Center.
The Salvation Army helps the community each year through a broad array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, emergency utility relief, and opportunities for underprivileged children. This year’s Love Beyond campaign will help The Salvation Army continue its important work, impacting tens of thousands of lives throughout the Greater Dayton community.
“My hope would be that the community understands The Salvation Army’s mission to preach the gospel unashamedly of Jesus, who stood with the least, the lost and the left behind people of his day. He reminds us to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is this motivation that allows The Salvation Army to ‘meet human needs without discrimination,’” said Senak.
The Salvation Army’s Ray and Joan Kroc Center continues to make a difference every day. In spreading an ever-hopeful message and practical help in a time of increased need, The Salvation Army is working tirelessly to meet the needs of area families throughout Greater Dayton this holiday season.
For example, the Support Services Office provides year-round utility assistance. We have a scholarship program for all of our activities, so no one is excluded from our programs. We have an afterschool program for 80 plus children during the school year and a seven-week summer day camp for 80 children, per week. The center also sends 72 children from our community to residential camp at Camp Swoneky. ESOL and GED classes were also added to help our neighbors, Senak said.
He said, “Our Senior Program is a twice-weekly program for seniors. Our Fitness Center offers classes for seniors, specifically to meet their needs, as well as providing for the community at large. Our youth sports program has increased to over 500 young people participating in one or more youth sports programs, which includes soccer, volleyball, basketball, and flag football. We have started three Sally Closets in area schools. These closets are stocked with brand new clothing for the children who come to school without certain types of clothes or for those who have had accidents. The closets are stocked year-round to provide the assistance needed by children.”
The countless stories of the lives that have been impacted by The Salvation Army are endless. One young woman came to the Kroc Center at age 11. Parented by a single mom, her family was struggling with little income. The young girl fell in love with the programs offered here at the Kroc Center. She has always been a part of our dance group and has excelled in dance. Since then, she graduated from Stivers School of the Arts and is now enrolled at the University of Cincinnati.
Another young woman came to the Kroc through our after-school program. Her mother had many struggles, and she’s primarily been raised by her grandmother. At the Kroc Center, she was given the academic boost needed to excel in her studies. She worked hard and earned a full scholarship to Vassar College where she will graduate in May. She also plans to further her studies by attending medical school.
A generous donation to the Love Beyond campaign will help The Salvation Army provide these vital services and programs to people in Dayton. The Salvation Army has always had the mindset and perspective that the mission is true and will not change but the needs in individual communities will change and not always look the same. We will look at the community and evaluate the greatest needs and see how we can meet them “To Do the Most Good” possible.
Steps community members can take to give financially to the Love Beyond campaign through the Dayton Salvation Army include sending a check to our Red Kettle campaign at 1000 N. Keowee St., Dayton, Ohio 45404, give a gift online on our website, or at one of the other online portals and designate their donation to the Dayton Salvation Army, or drop some dollars into one of our red kettles when they are shopping at local stores, beginning on Fri., Nov. 25 through Sat., Dec. 24th.
“Giving is important because this is how we can serve people in need. Dayton does not rely on government money to run our programs and minister to the many needs we encounter. We are able to do what we do ONLY because of the incredible generosity of others helping their neighbors. When we talk to donors this is the truest statement, “YOU provided that helping hand to those in need in your community,” Senak said.
Because there has historically been a thought that The Salvation Army helps so many people around Thanksgiving and Christmas; it has also been a positive opportunity to raise funds during this time, he said. Our Red Kettle bell ringing campaign has added to that exposure at Christmas. Dayton has another big fundraising opportunity in the late spring/early summer focused on helping kids attend our summer day camps and overnight camps. This fundraiser is very similar to our fundraiser at Christmas. Through a mail appeal campaign, we continue to raise funds throughout the entire year.
The Salvation Army has always been a beacon of hope those in need here in the Dayton area. As William Booth the founder of The Salvation Army would often say, “The Salvation Army is a place of hope. When every other light is extinguished, and every other star has gone down, this one gleam shines steady and clearly out in the darkened sky: ‘If I could only get to The Salvation Army, they will do something for me.’”
Senak said the mission of The Salvation Army is “To preach the name of Jesus Christ. This is done with both words and deeds and to minister to human needs, in his name, without discrimination.” The Christmas campaign raises the most money of any of our fundraising. It is the people in the community that give financial support to The Salvation Army that provides “the fuel,” which allows us “To Do the Most Good” for our neighbors in need.
The Salvation Army seeks long term change by addressing the root causes that lead to cycles of poverty and poor quality of life. Here at the Kroc Center, we offer holistic care with the entire family in mind. The Salvation Army’s Ray and Joan Kroc Center offers a high-quality community center with access to a recreation and fitness center, an education center, and a café. All of this is easily accessible and affordable, especially to families and individuals who need it the most. The Salvation Army also offers a place of worship with the opportunity of establishing meaningful relationships for long term support and care.
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