The Salvation Army Announces Conclusion
of the 2012 Tree of Lights Christmas Campaign

The Quincy Salvation Army Christmas Chair, Lee Lindsay Curtis, is pleased to announce the completion of a successful 2012 Christmas Campaign.  The campaign goal of $375,000 was exceeded having raised $375,115.  The Hannibal Salvation Army Christmas Campaign surpassed their $75,000 goal as well by raising $86,657.

The Tree of Lights Christmas Campaign is The Salvation Army’s major fund raising effort each year.  Money raised during the campaign helps provide Christmas assistance as well as funding for programs and services that help individuals and families in the greater Adams County area on a daily basis.  Over the past few years, the number of people receiving assistance from The Salvation Army has steadily increased due to the economy.

This holiday season the following assistance was given to our community:  770 families from the  Quincy area and 269 families from the Hannibal area received Christmas Food Baskets. 1,124 children received toys and gifts from Toy Town in Quincy and 407 from Toy Town in Hannibal.  More than 900 meals were served on both Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.

The Salvation Army is grateful to the 2,497 volunteers who donated 5,379 hours of volunteer service to help make all of this possible.

The Salvation Army also appreciates the many individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses that supported our effort by donating food, toys, time and money to make the 2012 Christmas Campaign a success.

A special thank you goes to our Christmas Chair, Lee Lindsay Curtis, for all the hard work and effort that went into helping us surpass the Christmas Campaign goal.  We couldn’t have done it without you!

What would you consider a priority for your family?
Would you put food at the top of the list? Or perhaps a roof over your head, utilities, prescriptions, or something else? For many people, through no fault of their own, these questions have become something to lay awake at night and worry about.

For most of us, the thought of coming to The Salvation Army for assistance would be unimaginable, but for a growing number of families it is a part of survival. Some who felt they had everything six months ago now realize they have very little to support themselves after a job loss.

That’s where The Salvation Army steps in to help. Through your generosity, we have been able to help families throughout our region answer these questions in this unforgiving economy.

The Changing Lives Campaign is an effort to raise capital to be used for the construction of our new Emergency Shelter and Family Services building.

The Need
The Salvation Army Emergency Shelter in Quincy, Illinois is the only shelter within more than 100 miles that serves both families and single men and women.

Progress on the new John Gardner Stevenson Family Emergency Shelter & Family Services Center has been completed, and operations are being held at the 501 Broadway building as of March 22, 2013. Plans for the Grand Opening Ceremony are scheduled for Thursday, May 30 at 4:00pm. The new building is located diagonally from the Kroc Center, making it much easier to coordinate programs once held several miles away from each other. It can house up to 16 people with rooms dedicated to single men & women as well as families. Our Family Services and Food Pantry are also operated there.

According to the terms of Joan Kroc’s designated bequest, No Kroc dollars may be used for direct service to clients, such as food, clothing, shelter, etc. or for the building of transitional housing or emergency shelters.

Your donations are still needed to complete this project.

Program Mission
The Salvation Army Emergency Shelter and Family Services programs strive to bring about positive changes to individuals and families who are homeless or are in need of basic necessities.

Applying the gospel of Jesus Christ, physical and spiritual needs are met without discrimination. Guidance and support is given to assist those we serve to lead self-sufficient lives, which in turn will strengthen family and community.

What we are doing
To help prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless, Family Services offers daily breadline, transportation, furniture, clothing, food pantry, rent and utility assistance, prescription assistance and more.

For those who are homeless, The Salvation Army’s Emergency Shelter, provides crisis intervention by offering temporary housing to families and single men and women. Assistance is provided to help shelter residents find and retain employment and locate affordable housing.

Both programs provide life skills classes, case management, Christian counseling and referrals to other agencies who might further assist in meeting the clients’ needs.