By Rick Abercrombie
The Optimist Club of St. Andrews-Irmo recently heard from Major Mark Craddock, the Midlands Area Commander of the Salvation Army. Very soon the sound of the work of bell ringers will be seemingly everywhere in the community. Those workers manage the familiar Red Kettles that kickoff at Thanksgiving.
The Red Kettle workers account for about 70 percent of all donations during the Holiday season; however, fundraising is a year-round campaign. Red Kettle funds typically remain within the communities in which the funds are collected. The avenues of giving are spelled out online at give.salvationarmyusa.com/give. Those funds, which fuel a variety of services, are collected nationally and then distributed based on local needs. Some of those services are:
• Worship services and spiritual programs that are Christ-centered.
• Utility and rent assistance where household expenses overwhelm residents.
• Holiday giving through the Angel Tree gift program
• Homeless shelters that offer emergency or transitional housing in a safe, warm environment.
• Family services, offering a variety of life-enrichment resources including after school programs, summer camps, and music education.
• Thrift stores where clothing and household items are inspected, cleaned, and offered at affordable prices.
• Food pantries and hunger relief.
• Support for human trafficking survivors.
• Disaster assistance, often the first and most responsive resources during those times.
Maj. Craddock outlined a progression for dealing with negative situations. Those steps, with progress evaluations along the way, are:
1. Crisis. Families/individuals find themselves in an untenable situation
2. Remaining vulnerability, but moving out of crisis.
3. Increasing stability
4. Sufficiency
He said he and his cohorts prepare themselves and their clients for the possibility that each of those steps may take as much as two years.
Of the four Salvation Army offices in the Midlands, the closest to the Irmo community is at 7532 Irmo Drive.
Pictured are Major Craddock and Optimist Club President David Kafitz, who presented the speaker with a copy of the Optimist Creed.
