The quarter in the bucket, the check for $18,000 in the mail – however the donation comes in to the Salvation Army, it goes back to help the people in our community who have hit a rough patch.
“We give money where it will make a real difference,” said Judy Duke, chairwoman of the Salvation Army of La Plata County. “Every single day, we’re helping people with food, transportation, to stay in their house, put tires on their car so they can get to school. We do critical things for the neediest people in our community.”
The Salvation Army and its corps of 600-plus bell ringers raised about $120,000 in the 2013 holiday campaign.
A large portion of the money was distributed through the Community Emergency Assistance Coalition, which meets every week to evaluate requests. It gives an average of $1,300 per week to about three families or individuals for one-time emergencies.
“I always ask myself, is this what the woman on Social Security or the child who put the coin in the bucket would want us to do with this money?” Duke said. “And I’m very conscious of honoring the people who stood out in freezing weather courting hypothermia to raise this money.”
The Community Emergency Assistance Coalition doesn’t give the money directly to the recipient. Instead, it gives it to the landlord, car-repair garage or other provider. Duke said local businesses, including area tire stores, often work with the coalition to make sure recipients get a good deal so they are safe on the road.
“We did provide a room in a motel this year for a single mom whose apartment was infested with bedbugs,” Duke said. “She needed a safe place with her children while her apartment was fumigated. Agencies will call with a need like this, and we step up and help, as we did with the mercury spill at the Volunteers of America last year.”
Help getting over a hump
Vouchers may be small, but they can make a big difference.
Manna Soup Kitchen handles the administrative details of Salvation Army’s gas, grocery store, prescription and bus vouchers.
“We have to track them to make sure that no one gets more than one voucher each year,” Manna Executive Director Kathy Tonnessen said. “The goal is to help people get over a hump, not keep supporting them.”
In 2014 through November, Manna had distributed almost $11,000 in vouchers to almost 2,700 recipients. Almost half the money went to gas vouchers so people could get to school and work, with a quarter going to grocery vouchers.
“They’re not huge, $10 per person in the family for up to $30,” Tonnessen said about the grocery vouchers. “But they’re enough to feed a family of four for a day or two.”
More than a smile
This year, Salvation Army began a new program, working with local dentist James Moore to provide one set of dentures per month for $800.
“It’s something no one else does,” Duke said. “Last year, we decided to do it, whether it’s help for young people who can’t find a job because of the state of their teeth or are suffering from a lack of nutrition, or for seniors to make sure they eat well.”
Moore’s whole business model is making affordable dentures for people who can’t otherwise afford them, he said. He charges all customers $800.
“Commonly, a set will go for about $3,000,” he said. “It’s great to make a decent living and still be able to help people.”
The Salvation Army contributes to more than emergency needs, providing money for the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County for back-to-school clothes, particularly shoes, as well as scholarships for field trips.
“I just had a single mom say, ‘My child would never have gotten to do this without the Salvation Army,’” Duke said. “It’s not an emergency, but it’s an important thing.”
The organization also pays for one room at Southwest Transitions, a nonprofit that helps men who have been recently released from prison to start anew.
“Prison ministry has always been a mission of Salvation Army,” Duke said.
‘No overhead’
Ten percent of cash donations received goes to the Salvation Army of Colorado to support the greater missions of the organization, and the remainder stays in La Plata County, Duke said. The state organization may send that money and more back in the case of a major emergency, such as the Missionary Ridge Fire. Duke also said 100 percent of checks written to the Salvation Army of La Plata County stays here.
Businesses have joined the effort by participating in the Match the Kettle campaign, matching one day of donations of a kettle at a specific location, which significantly is increasing the money raised, Duke said.
“And we have no overhead, unlike other places,” Duke said. “We’re all volunteers and don’t pay any salaries. This is one big community effort.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
To learn more
To learn more about local Salvation Army efforts, call 422-4221.
To volunteer as a bell ringer, call Kathy Deaderick at 247-7764.
To be sure your donation stays in La Plata County, mail your tax-deductible contribution to La Plata County Salvation Army, P.O. Box 3296, Durango, CO 81302.
