The
Salvation Army Fact Sheet: Doing the Most Good
August 2009
The Salvation Army is a 129-year old, faith-based
charity that helps people with all kinds of social needs in virtually every
community across America.
o Last year, nearly 30 million
Americans received assistance from the Army's 3,600 officers, 63,000 employees, and 3.4 million
volunteers.
o We have nearly 7,800 centers of operation in almost every zip code in the country.
o We also have a worldwide presence, providing
assistance for people in 118 countries and territories around the world.
o Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and
to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
The Salvation Army helps people in more ways than any
other national charity, from survivors of natural disasters to those affected
by substance abuse.
o With the public's generosity
in 2008 in the United States:
o 224,000 underprivileged children attended The Salvation
Army's summer and day camps across the country.
o 318,000 individuals received help battling drug and
alcohol addiction through Thrift Store donations.
o The Salvation Army served 69 million meals to the
needy.
o We provided 6.8 million cash grants to those in
need.
o 1.6 million people received help during times of
disaster.
The Salvation Army is a responsible steward of your
generosity in your community.
o 82 cents of every dollar The Salvation Army spends goes directly to support
community service programs - far exceeding the Better Business Bureau's
guideline of 65 percent. (Source: Forbes, "America's 200 Largest
Charities," 11/19/2008; Better Business Bureau Web Site )
o According to a 2007 New York Times article, "The
Salvation Army is widely considered exemplary among nonprofits in
handling cash collections." (Source: The New York Times, 1/5/07)
o The Salvation Army enjoys and appreciates the support
of many major corporate donors at the national and local levels.
Nationally, major supporters include Wal-Mart Stores, The Dallas Cowboys and
Target Corporation- all of which donate time, money and resources to help The
Salvation Army to serve people in need year-round.
o All donations remain in communities where they
originate.
o To donate please visit www.salvationarmyusa.org,
call 1800-SAL-ARMY or contact your local Salvation Army office.
Ray and Joan Kroc
Corps Community Centers
In 1998, Mrs. Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald's
founder Ray Kroc, donated $90 million to The Salvation Army to build a
comprehensive community center in San Diego, California. Her wish was to create
a center, supported in part by the community, where children and families would
be exposed to different people, activities and arts that would otherwise be
beyond their reach. Completed in 2001, the center sits on 12 acres and offers
an ice arena, gymnasium, three pools, rock climbing walls, a performing arts
theatre, an internet-based library, computer lab, and a school of visual and
performing arts.
When Mrs. Kroc passed away in October 2003,
she left $1.5 billion - much of her estate - to The Salvation Army, by far the
largest charitable gift ever given to the Army, and the largest single gift
given to any charity at one time. The initial disbursements of this bequest
began in January 2005. The gift had by then grown to $1.8 billion and was split
evenly among the four Army Territories - Central, East, South and West. The
money was designated to build a series of state-of-the-art Ray and Joan Kroc
Corps Community Centers nationwide patterned after the San Diego center.
Currently, The Salvation Army is operating
four Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers in addition to the original
center in San Diego - Ashland, OH; Atlanta, GA; Coeur d'Alene, ID and San
Francisco, CA. By the end of 2009, two additional centers - in Salem, OR and
Omaha, NE - are scheduled to open. The Army estimates that 28 centers total
will be built during the next several years ranging in size, services,
location, and cost:
- Opened in 2002:
- San Diego (Note: that this center was built form a
separate Kroc gift)
- Open:
- Ashland, OH
- Atlanta, GA
- Coeur d'Alene, ID
- San Francisco, CA
- Set to open in 2009:
- Planned to open in 2010:
- Biloxi, MS
- Dayton, OH
- Grand Rapids, MI
- Honolulu, HI
- Kerrville, TX
- Philadelphia, PA
- Quincy, IL
- Future sites:
- Augusta, GA
- Boston, MA
- Camden, NJ
- Charlotte, NC
- Chicago, IL
- Green Bay, WI
- Greenville, SC
- Guayama, Puerto Rico
- Long Beach, CA
- Louisville, KY
- Memphis, TN
- Norfolk, VA
- Phoenix, AZ
- South Bend, IN
- Staten Island, NY