Volunteer to Keep the Silver Bells Ringing This Holiday Season

Written by Carl Dameron on October 11, 2023. Posted in The Salvation Army

Earl Perkins Rings the bells to raise funds for The Salvation Army to help the Hungry, Homeless and Hopeless this holiday season.

 

“This is a wonderful way to help disadvantaged people in our community, simply by volunteering as bell ringers,” said Major Isaias Braga, commander of The Salvation Army of San Bernardino.

 

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.— The “miracle” of Christmas is repeated through the joy of caring and sharing. The San Bernardino Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org) seeks volunteers to Keep the Bells Ringing in the cities of San Bernardino, Redlands, Highland, Rialto, Loma Linda, Colton, Yucaipa, Calimesa, Bloomington, Mentone, Grand Terrace, Muscoy, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs.

The nationally recognized shiny red kettles are an integral part of the Christmas scene, with lots of dollars donated each year to aid needy families, seniors and the homeless, in keeping with the spirit of the season.

“This is a wonderful way to help disadvantaged people in our community, simply by volunteering as bell ringers,” said Major Isaias Braga, commander of The Salvation Army of San Bernardino. “We’re looking for individuals, families and groups to spend a day at one of our more than 30 locations in our area.”

The Salvation Army begins ringing its bells this year on   Monday November 13th, from 10 am through 6 pm and continues Monday through Saturday until Christmas Eve.

Many volunteers ring two hours at a time, but groups are asked to provide ringers who can work in shifts for an entire day. Anyone who would like to donate a few hours of their time can volunteer. Individuals under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Where does the money raised by the ringing bells in San Bernardino go? The Salvation Army provides emergency services including food, housing for homeless or displaced families, clothing and showers, as well as assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available.

“Last Christmas, The Salvation Army provided 650 holiday food baskets to families and 1,400 children received 5,500 toys,” said Braga. On Christmas Eve, The Salvation Army hosts a Christmas Dinner that provides a delicious meal to approximately 300 people. Donations raised by volunteers who Keep the Bells Ringing help make this possible.

To volunteer to Keep the Bells Ringing, call The Salvation Army at (909) 888-1336.

To donate to The Salvation Army online, go to: www.salvationarmyusa.org. To donate by phone call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (800-725-2769).

Photo Caption: Majors Isaias and Adelma Braga welcome donors to The Annual Red Kettle Kickoff. This year’s event is Wednesday, November 15th, at 5:30 pm at the Bear Springs Events Center,  27923 Highland Avenue, Highland, CA 92346. Click here for tickets.

Pete Van Helden – Stater Bros. Markets Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, will deliver the keynote address at the kickoff event for The Salvation Army’s Annual Red Kettle campaign. It all happens on Wednesday, November 15th at 5:30 PM at the Bear Springs Events Center, 27923 Highland Avenue, Highland, CA 92346

Buy your tickets today at $250 per person.  A table of 8 is just $1,000.  https://give-sc.salvationarmy.org/event/the-salvation-army-or-san-bernardino-red-kettle-kick-off/e429128/register/new/select-tickets

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church and offers holistic programs for individuals in need without discrimination. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has served San Bernardino and the Inland Empire since 1887. The San Bernardino Corps of The Salvation Army serves Bloomington, Colton, Grand Terrace, Highland, Rialto, and San Bernardino.

Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY. Our local service number is (909) 888-1336.

 

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Helping Homeless Families Get Back in Control of Their Lives

Written by Carl Dameron on September 7, 2023. Posted in The Salvation Army

“All of us who are part of the Hospitality House team love being able to help families, get back in control of their lives.”

(San Bernardino, Calif.) The San Bernardino Salvation Army Hospitality House stands ready to house homeless families and single women who need temporary, stable shelter. Their target population also includes multi-generational families, and single men with children as well.

“The Salvation Army Hospitality House serves as a safe refuge that provides residents with a supportive, caring environment and all the resources they need to deal with a wide variety of personal and/or family problems. It all starts with an emergency shelter that can keep participants safely housed for 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on their circumstances,” says Program Manager Naomi Goforth.

At intake, each new arrival is assessed by trained Salvation Army intake staff.  Once the scope of a client’s needs has been determined, each family is given a detailed individualized case plan and assigned to a case manager who will maintain close contact during their entire stay.

Each family’s case plan includes comprehensive goals and objectives that cover their intake, transition to permanent housing, help finding a steady job, legal advocacy, child welfare aid, and education. Every resident is treated as an individual with individual needs and every case is different and gets a customized case plan.

Amanda and her six children are graduates of the Salvation Army Hospitality House. They now live in their apartment

“People who come to Hospitality House may have been sleeping in their cars or were recently released from a hospital. At intake, each new resident gets clothing, bed linens, hygiene products, and a chance to take a breath after whatever ordeal they have just gone through,” says Goforth.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” says one recent Hospitality House graduate.

“I’m a single mom and I lost my job during the pandemic. Thank goodness, at least my 15-year-old car was paid off and when we were no longer able to pay rent, that’s where we slept. I heard about Hospitality House from a friend and the people there have helped me find a new job, secure a place to live, and even got me enrolled in a course that’s going to add to my skill set so I can advance in my new-found career.”

Goforth says, “Our residents don’t just sit around and spin their wheels. They actively work on their case plan. Our case managers are good at finding each individual’s motivation to resolve their homelessness and get back on their feet.”

The Salvation Army Hospitality House Program Manager Naomi Goforth

“Sometimes, that may include a referral to one of our partner agencies for things like mental health services, substance use, and legal aid. Whatever they need, we can either provide help in-house or get them connected to the right providers,” says Goforth.

As current resident K.L. notes, “I had a pretty bad rent history and I knew not many landlords would want to take a chance on me, even though I now have a decent job. But the Salvation Army has helped me reestablish a better tenant history and now I have a place lined up to move to when my stay here ends next week.”

In 2023 The Salvation Army served 26,013 people and 24,012 households, serving 110,768 meals, and donating groceries to 12,822 households.

The Hospitality House provided 34,761 nights of shelter to families and children experiencing homelessness; 2,146 children participated in educational and recreational programs.

To talk with a Hospitality House representative, call (909) 888-4880 or visit the website at SanBernardino.SalvationArmy.org/ 

Learn More About the Salvation Army’s Mission

About the Salvation Army 

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. To donate, call 1-800 SATRUCK.

The Salvation Army of San Bernardino serves the cities of San Bernardino, Redlands, Highland, Rialto, Loma Linda, Colton, Yucaipa, Calimesa, Bloomington, Mentone, Grand Terrace, Muscoy and Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs.

Media Contact

Salvation Army-PR-1214.2  Hospitality House #1

For interviews or more information call Carl Dameron

@ (909) 534-9500

Tags: Bloomington, Calimesa, colton, grand terrace, help the homeless, Highland, homeless shelter, hopeless, Hospitality House, hungry, Lake Arrowhead, loma linda, Mentone, Muscoy and Big Bear, Redlands, rialto, Running Springs, San Bernardino, The Salvation Army, Yucaipa

Judi Penman Joins Salvation Army Advisory Board

Judi Penman, president and CEO of the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce, has joined the Salvation Army Advisory Board to help the non-profit organization in its community outreach efforts. Photo by Chris Sloan
 
 (SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Long-time civic leader Judi Penman has joined the advisory board of The Salvation Army.

“I am a strong believer in The Salvation Army” said Penman, who is also the president and chief executive officer of the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce and an elected member of the San Bernardino City Unified School District governing board.

“I believe it is one of the best programs around. It gets to the people who really need help, and actually works with them,” Penman said. “And, it is a Christian organization, which is important to me.”

Penman previously served on the Salvation Army Advisory Board from approximately 2005 through 2007.

The life-long San Bernardino resident is married to San Bernardino City Attorney James Penman.

“We are glad to have Judi back on the Salvation Army advisory board,” said Board President Tom Brickley. “The depth of knowledge she has about San Bernardino and her ability to make connections with others in the community will be a tremendous asset to us.”

The San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army serves the cities of San Bernardino, Rialto, Highland, Grand Terrace and Colton, and the unincorporated community of Bloomington.

The advisory board consists of volunteers who assist the Salvation Army with fund raising, community outreach and other areas of the Corps’ ministries.

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org  or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.
 

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Path to Prosperity Helps Men Get Back on Right Track

 Sal Reyes and Daryl Raymond, front left to right, at their San Bernardino Valley College graduation. The two men obtained help getting their lives back on track from Path to Prosperity, a program of The Salvation Army, after overcoming methamphetamine addiction. They are now beginning work on bachelor’s degrees at California State University, San Bernardino.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) More than 200 men, all former drug and alcohol addicts, have found their way to a better future through Path to Prosperity, a program of The Salvation Army.

Two of the most recent are Daryl Raymond, 34 and Sal Reyes, 38. With the help of Path to Prosperity, both of them recently graduated from San Bernardino Valley College, and are now enrolled at California State University, San Bernardino to begin working on bachelor’s degrees this fall.

After becoming addicted to methamphetamine, both Raymond and Reyes ended up a few years ago at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center, which are residential treatment programs run by The Salvation Army to help men recover from their addictions. In the in the Inland Empire these programs operate in San Bernardino and Perris.

After completing the programs offered by the local Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers, both men enrolled in Path to Prosperity, a program offered by the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army. The Path to Prosperity program, which for most men lasts 18 to 24 months, focuses on helping men obtain the skills they need to become self-supporting and financially independent.

Now that they’ve completed the Path to Prosperity program, Reyes has already embarked on his new chosen career, counseling. Prior to obtaining his associate degree with honors in Human Services, he found part-time employment with MFI Recovery in Riverside as a drug and alcohol counselor. After he obtains a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and perhaps a Master’s degree in a related field, he hopes to open his own practice as a marriage and family therapist.

After Raymond completes a double major at Cal State San Bernardino in Transportation & Logistics, and Business Entrepreneurship, he plans to get back into the transportation industry in some capacity. He is also considering a Master’s degree in Business Administration to enhance his future career earning potential.

“I was an operations manager for a local trucking company for eight years,” Raymond said. “Then, I kind of drifted. I was what is known as a functional addict, which meant I went to work and lived a normal life. Eventually, a functional addiction collapses and becomes a full-blown addiction. You lose your job. You lose your car. You lose your family – all within a matter of months.”

Path to Prosperity is open to any man who has successfully completed a substance abuse treatment program and can prove he has lived clean and sober for the last six months. Although open to men who have completed other programs, Adult Rehabilitation Center graduates from San Bernardino and Perris make up the vast majority of enrollment in the Path to Prosperity program.

Since Path to Prosperity is limited to 27 men at one time, and both Adult Rehabilitation Centers have more than 100 men each enrolled, the ARC graduates also form a waiting list of those hoping to join when space is available. Not all ARC graduates enroll in Path to Prosperity, but Reyes and Raymond say as many who can, should.

“Path to Prosperity allows you to transition back into normal life after you have completed a substance abuse program,” Raymond said. “It is the best decision, even if you have a home to go to before then.”

“Spending more time in Path to Prosperity after time in recovery outweighs the six years, 10 years or however long they have spent in a drug environment,” Reyes said. “It will give them the tools they need to stabilize their life, and to live out their recovery in an every day life, away from the highly regulated environment of the Adult Rehabilitation Centers.”

Men who are battling drug addiction usually need a highly regulated environment to get away from drug addiction, because they are used to making bad choices, Reyes explained. When they get to Path to Prosperity, they’re able to make better choices, so this program, while providing some structure, gives far more freedom to the men enrolled.

“It’s like being 18 years old, living at home, and still having to obey your parents’ rules,” Raymond said of Path to Prosperity.

“Our program is structured and disciplined,” said John Fletcher, program director. “But those men who are committed and strive to change the direction of their lives understand and learn to fully embrace the recovery process". 

Since the main purpose of Path to Prosperity is to help the men obtain the skills they need to live independently, most Path to Prosperity members immediately enroll in San Bernardino Valley College. There, they will complete an associate degree, as Reyes and Raymond have done, or certification for a vocational trade.

"The majority of the clients in the program attend San Bernardino Valley College or work full time,”. Fletcher said. “Those who attend college have a proven track record of maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 or better.”

Some of the men must first obtain a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) before enrolling at San Bernardino Valley College. A few are able to enroll directly into California State University, San Bernardino.

While they’re obtaining their college degree or certificate, the men live at Path to Prosperity. If they have a job, for instance, working part-time at Starbucks as Raymond and Reyes did, they pay one-third of their income as rent.

Both of these men believe Path to Prosperity has helped them get their lives back. They highly recommend it to those coming through the Adult Rehabilitation Centers’ programs behind them.

“Motivation to change and establish healthy priorities is crucial to recovery and long tern abstinence," Fletcher said. "The men who join us understand and soon realize continued sobriety and success are not only possible, but highly probable as they learn how to embrace the recovery principles we teach here. I teach that the sky is not the limit for anyone in our program - it is only the beginning.”

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.

Men seeking help to overcome drug or alcohol addiction should call their local Adult Rehabilitation Centers at (909) 889-9605 in San Bernardino County or (951) 940-5790 in Riverside County.

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John Peukert Joins Salvation Army Advisory Board

John Peukert, San Bernardino City Unified School District assistant superintendent for facilities and operations, has joined the San Bernardino Corps Salvation Army advisory board. Photo by Matt Sloan

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) John Peukert, the San Bernardino City Unified School District assistant superintendent for facilities and operations, has joined the San Bernardino Corps Salvation Army advisory board.

“I wanted to give my time to an organization that is doing so much in the community to bless others,” he said.

Peukert is a 27-year employee of San Bernardino City Unified School District, starting there in 1982 as its director of nutrition services. He has lived in Rialto for 34 years.

“John knows a lot of people, and he will help promote the Salvation Army through those connections,” said Tom Brickley, president of the advisory board.

The San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army serves the cities of San Bernardino, Rialto, Highland, Grand Terrace and Colton, and the unincorporated community of Bloomington.

The advisory board consists of volunteers who assist the Salvation Army with fund raising, community outreach and other areas of the Corps’ ministries.

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.

Dee Williams Joins Salvation Army Advisory Board

 Dee Williams has joined the advisory board of the San Bernardino Corps of The Salvation Army. Photo by Chris Sloan

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Dee Williams, who already has broad experience working to help children, has joined the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps Advisory Board.

Williams, who currently is the marketing consultant for Totally Kids Specialty Health Care, taught school in Ohio for 12 years before moving to California in 1987. She has worked for more than 20 years in sales and marketing, but never lost her passion for children.

But kids aren’t the only ones Williams likes to help. While a newcomer to the San Bernardino Corps advisory board, she has since 1998 served in the same capacity on the San Bernardino Adult Rehabilitation Center Advisory board, which assists men who are going through the drug and alcohol rehabilitation program run by this branch of the Salvation Army.

“I have enjoyed interacting with the men going through the ARC’s sobriety program,” Williams said. “It is very rewarding to see the successes that these men have accomplished, and now as a member of the Corps advisory board, I look forward to seeing entire families blessed as a result of the Salvation Army.”

“I have always been a great supporter of the Salvation Army and the work that they do,” she added. 

The advisory board consists of volunteers who assist the Salvation Army with fund raising, community outreach and other areas of the Corps’ ministries.

“Dee Williams has a strong background in sales and marketing, which will assist the Salvation Army in providing the services people need the most,” said Tom Brickley, advisory board president. “

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.

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Disaster Simulation Brings Together 35,000 Radio Operators

SATERN (The Salvation Army Emergency Radio Network) plans to demonstrate how it uses amateur radios for emergency communications by staging a mock disaster on Sunday, June 27 at DeAnza Park in Ontario.

 

(ONTARIO, Calif.) Inland Empire members of SATERN, the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network, will attempt contact with other amateur radio operators throughout the United States and Canada as they host an American Radio Relay League Field Day, Saturday June 26 at De Anza Park in Ontario and at the adjacent Salvation Army Ontario Corps.

“Field Day is the largest on-the-air operating event in the world,” said Tony Stephen, a member of the Inland Empire SATERN. “Its purpose is for our members to practice setting up in a simulated emergency, but we encourage members of the public to also come and learn about how the Salvation Army uses this communication to help our communities in times of disaster.”

The amateur radio operators will begin setting up their equipment at 7 a.m. and will conduct field exercises in the park from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., barring any real disaster that would require their assistance elsewhere. The park’s address is 1438 Euclid Ave., Ontario, Calif.

During a disaster such as a fire or earthquake, SATERN members use their radios to communicate with each other as the Salvation Army assists emergency workers, and to help those who have been evacuated from a disaster area get in touch with concerned friends and family.

In 2006, a planned SATERN field day turned into the real thing because it had been scheduled just two days before a devastating fire in Riverside County. The local SATERN members are from Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

This time, SATERN members will attempt to make contact with as many as possible of the expected 35,000 other amateur radio operators who are expected to participate in the Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day events throughout the United States.

For more information about the Field Day, contact Tony Stephen at 909-628-2843, ke6jzf@verizon.net, or www.satern.net

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.

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Salvation Army Conference Room Gets Makeover

 The Salvation Army Headquarters conference room is well-used already, and will soon receive a makeover  by Advisory Board Member Jack Katzman. Here, women gather for the weekly Tea at 2 hosted by Capt. Nancy Ball.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – Through the generosity of one of its advisory board members, the conference room of the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army’s headquarters building will soon have a new, much improved look.

“Advisory Board Member Jack Katzman has offered to remodel a room and donate much of the materials and labor,” said Capt. Stephen Ball, director of the San Bernardino Corps. “We greatly appreciate the generosity he has extended.”

“I am building a new room from the ground up,” said Katzman, who is the owner of Arrowhead Property Management, Inc. which  rehabiliates and leases office buildings throughout San Bernardino.

The project at the Salvation Army Headquarters Building will include replacing the lights, wiring and doors of the conference room, taking out old carpet to replace it with floor tiles, and painting the walls and adding new wood trim to them.

“The room is used heavily for many program activities and will be very nice when the work is completed,” Capt. Ball said.

One of its previous uses was as the “cold-weather” shelter for up to 28 men during the late fall and winter months, from 2007 through earlier this year when the Salvation Army’s shelter programs moved to their own building on Tenth Street.

It also for many years has been and continues to be used for meetings, worship services, youth programs and other Salvation Army functions.

Katzman, who is not only a member of the San Bernardino Corps advisory board, but president of the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center’s advisory board, said its an honor for him to build this project for The Salvation Army.

“The Salvation Army helps people everywhere,” he said. “That’s why I believe in giving back to them.”

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.

Tea With Milk, Sugar and Lots of Love

 

Capt. Nancy Ball, co-director of the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army, pours tea into her collection of china teacups. She serves tea from these cups every Wednesday to the women she ministers to and with at the Salvation Army. 

 

Capt. Nancy Ball, co-director of the San Bernardino  Corps of the Salvation Army, leads a group of women gathered for Tea at 2, a women’s ministry of The Salvation Army,  San Bernardino. Photo by Suzi Woodruff-Lacey.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Whether they are rich or poor, women often lead stress-filled lives.

Capt. Nancy Ball, co-director of the San Bernardino Corps of the Salvation Army, is taking some of that stress away from the women she works with. Every Wednesday, she invites them to visit her for a cup of tea.

“I serve tea and cookies every Wednesday at 2 p.m. to any woman who is on the premises of the Salvation Army headquarters,” she said. “I serve hot tea, whether it’s cold or hot outside, because hot tea is fun. It’s good to just close the door once in awhile, have a cookie and a relaxing cup of tea.”

She calls this “Tea at 2.” She has been serving weekly teas since shortly after she and her husband Stephen became the San Bernardino Corps directors in 2007.

Recently, after learning of how Capt. Ball has changed women’s lives through her Tea at 2 program, the Kahului, Hawaii Salvation Army Corps implemented a similar program especially for the women at its emergency family shelter.

Capt. Ball serves the tea from her own collection of china pots, teacups and saucers. She single-handedly prepares four pots of tea, and pours each one into one of the colorful teacups with saucers.

Once every woman is served, Capt. Ball asks for prayer requests. Similarly to many other gatherings of Christian women, she’s bound to hear that the women around her need prayer for the health of their loved ones, for problems in their or their children’s relationships, or for blessings of employment or college scholarships.

But since this tea party takes place at the Salvation Army, the women’s requests can take on a tone not like those at most other women’s prayer meetings.

“I have a praise report,” says one woman. “We’re moving into an apartment this week.”

“My praise report is that my friend is no longer in an abusive relationship,” says another. “She has moved into Hospitality House.”

Most of the women taking part in the prayer meeting these days are staff or volunteers with the Salvation Army. Some take part in the Sunday worship services the Salvation Army offers, or are the mothers of children and teens who take part in its youth outreach programs.

Teenage girls in these outreach programs often take part in the teas too. At a recent tea, 18-year-old Sarai asked for prayer about a college scholarship she applied for then, shortly after the tea was over, left with her fellow members of the 2010 Salvation Army basketball team to compete in a tournament in Portland, Ore.

For more than two years, homeless women also made up a large portion of the crowd gathered into the Salvation Army headquarters meeting room. That’s when the Hospitality House emergency family shelter was operating out of the headquarters building.

“We need to keep praying for the women at Hospitality House,” says Dodie, a former staff member who attended the tea party recently for the first time in several months. During her time away, on February 1 of this year, Hospitality House moved out of the headquarters building and into its own building about 1.5 miles away.

“We prayed for Hospitality House during the transition for two years,” she said. “But now we don’t have the same regular interaction with those women.”

For some time, the women discussed ways to continue helping the homeless women – and those women who recently moved out of Hospitality House – stay connected with everything The Salvation Army has to offer them.

Dodie, who lives near the headquarters building, keeps an eye out for women who go there after business hours, only to find no one is there. She’s prayed with some of those women, given many directions to the new shelter, and in one case, walked with a woman to the shelter.

Other women are giving the Hospitality House residents rides over to the headquarters building, or if they have already left the Hospitality House, calling them to remind them they can still take part in The Salvation Army’s other ministries. For the youth, The Salvation Army offers transportation to its ministries.

“It’s about loving your neighbor,” Capt. Ball said. “The Salvation Army is all about giving people a place to belong. We’re a place where there is someone to walk with you and pray with you.”

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps

The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

For local help, call the San Bernardino Corps headquarters at (909) 888-1337.

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