Salvation Army Day 2025 is on Monday, March 10, 2025: Does anyone think the salvation army volunteer job is ineffective?

Monday, March 10, 2025 is Salvation Army Day 2025. Day 14 of 25 Days of Giving: The Salvation Army « The Inside Pitch Day 14: The Salvation Army

I respect the Salvation Army as opposed to the Red Cross. During my time as a Member of the Correction Emergency Response Team, responding to escapes, and prison disturbances, the Salvation Army was always there giving us coffee, donuts, and sandwich's. We were outside sometimes days on end awaiting the order to move. These people were really great. The Red Cross on the other hand sold everything.

As an extra note: The Red Cross in Germany delivered poison gas to concentration camps operated by the Nazi´s.

what is the development of the salvation army since it was founded?

The Salvation Army is a Christian denomination and international charitable organisation organised in a quasi-military structure. The organisation reports worldwide membership of over 1.5 million,consisting of soldiers, officers and adherents known as Salvationists. Its founders William and Catherine Booth sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute and hungry by meeting both their "physical and spiritual needs". It has a presence in 126 countries, running charity shops, operating shelters for the homeless, and providing disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries.

The theology of the Salvation Army is mainstream Methodist although it is distinctive in government and practice. The Army's doctrine follow mainstream Christian beliefs, and its articles of faith emphasise God's "saving purposes". Its objects are "the advancement of the Christian religion… of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole."

The Army was founded in 1865 in London by one-time Methodist minister William Booth. Originally known as the North London Christian Mission, in 1878 Booth reorganized the mission, becoming its first General and introducing the military structure which has been retained to the present day. The current General of the Army is Linda Bond.

Disaster relief

In the USA The Salvation Army's first major forays into disaster relief resulted from the tragedies of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Salvationists' nationwide appeals for financial and material donations yielded tremendous support, enabling the Army to provide assistance to thousands. General Evangeline Booth, when she offered the services of Salvationists to President Woodrow Wilson during the First World War, thrust Salvation Army social and relief work to newer heights. Today the Salvation Army is best known for its charitable efforts.

The Salvation Army is a non-governmental relief agency and is usually among the first to arrive with help after natural or man-made disasters. They have worked to alleviate suffering and help people rebuild their lives. After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, they arrived immediately at some of the worst disaster sites to help retrieve and bury the dead. Since then they have helped rebuild homes and construct new boats for people to recover their livelihood. Members were prominent among relief organizations after Hurricane Hugo and Hurricane Andrew and other such natural disasters in the United States. In August 2005, they supplied drinking water to poor people affected by the heat wave in the United States. Later in 2005 they responded to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They have helped the victims of an earthquake in Indonesia in May 2006.

The William Booth Memorial Training College, Denmark Hill, London: The College for Officer Training of The Salvation Army in the UK

Since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, The Salvation Army has allocated donations of more than $365 million to serve more than 1.7 million people in nearly every state. The Army’s immediate response to Hurricane Katrina included the mobilization of more than 178 canteen feeding units and 11 field kitchens which together have served more than 5.7 million hot meals, 8.3 million sandwiches, snacks and drinks. Its SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network) network of amateur ham-radio operators picked up where modern communications left off to help locate more than 25,000 survivors.

The Salvation Army was one of the first relief agencies on the scene of the September 11 attacks in New York. They also provided prayer support for families of missing people.

The Salvation Army, along with the American National Red Cross, Southern Baptist Convention, and other disaster relief organizations, are national members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD).

Also among the disaster relief capabilities is the Red Shield Defence Services, often called the SallyMan for short. The effort that they put in is similar to that of a chaplain, and reaches many more, offering cold drinks, hot drinks, and some biscuits for the soldiers of the military to have, though, if a SallyMan is on deployment, the locals are offered a share in the produce.

In Australia the Salvation Army have Emergency Services Support Units throughout the country, providing food and other welfare to members of the Emergency Services such as bushfires, floods, land search, and other both large and small scale emergency operations undertaken by Police, Fire, Ambulance and State Emergency Service members, and the general public affected by these events

What is the Salvation army?

My late cousin went to the Salvation Army church in the US, she also worked in the thrift shop. Her daughter who is closer to my age serves in the Salvation Army and is a Sargent,

The Salvation Army is an integral part of the Christian Church, although distinctive in government and practice. The Army’s doctrine follows the mainstream of Christian belief and its articles of faith emphasise God’s saving purposes. Its objects are ‘the advancement of the Christian religion… of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole.’*

The movement, founded in 1865 by William Booth, has spread from London, England, to many parts of the world.

The rapid deployment of the first Salvationists was aided by the adoption of a quasi-military command structure in 1878 when the title, ‘The Salvation Army’, was brought into use. A similarly practical organisation today enables resources to be equally flexible. Responding to a recurrent theme in Christianity which sees the Church engaged in spiritual warfare, the Army has used to advantage certain soldierly features such as uniforms, flags and ranks to identify, inspire and regulate its endeavours.

Evangelistic and social enterprises are maintained, under the authority of the General, by full-time officers and employees, as well as soldiers who give service in their free time. The Army also benefits from the support of many adherents and friends, including those who serve on advisory boards.

Leadership in the Army is provided by commissioned officers who are recognised ministers of religion.

All Salvationists accept a disciplined and compassionate life of high moral standards which includes abstinence from alcohol and tobacco. From its earliest days the Army has accorded women equal opportunities, every rank and service being open to them and from childhood the young are encouraged to love and serve God.

Raised to evangelise, the Army spontaneously embarked on schemes for the social betterment of the poor. Such concerns have since developed, wherever the Army operates, in practical, skilled and cost-effective ways. Evolving social services meet endemic needs and specific crises worldwide. Modern facilities and highly-trained staff are employed.

The need for modern facilities and longer-term development is under continual review. Increasingly the Army’s policy and its indigenous membership allow it to cooperate with international relief agencies and governments alike. The movement’s partnership with both private and public philanthropy will continue to bring comfort to the needy, while the proclamation of God’s redemptive love offers individuals and communities the opportunity to enjoy a better life on earth and a place in Christ’s everlasting Kingdom.

I especially like the story of the Kettle Pot we see at Christmas you can read the full story here:

The red kettle program began as a fundraiser in 1891 when Captain Joseph McFee resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner to the poor of San Francisco. But how would he pay for the food?

Then, from his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England, the captain remembered a large pot displayed on the Stage Landing, the pot was called Simpson's Pot. Passersby tossed charitable donations into the pot. The captain received permission from city authorities to place a crab pot and tripod at the Oakland ferry landing at the foot of San Francisco's Market Place. The kettle--and McFee's request to "Keep the Pot Boiling!"--drew a lot of attention from ferry passengers. So began a tradition that spread throughout the United States, then the world.

By 1895, thirty Salvation Army locations on the West Coast used the kettle. Two young Salvation Army officers, William A. McIntyre and N.J. Lewis, took the idea with them to the East Coast. In 1897, McIntyre based his Christmas plans for Boston around the kettle. Other Army officers did not want to participate for fear of "making spectacles of themselves." So McIntyre, his wife and sister set up three kettles in the heart of the city. That year, the kettle effort in Boston and other locations nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy.