The Salvation Army - Nashville

Play Ball!

This Saturday, May 12th, thanks to Kiwanis of Nashville, families from our Community Center and our Transitional Housing program will get to enjoy a night of hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and baseball as the Sounds take on the Reno Aces!

You can join us too and celebrate a night of fun together!  Game starts at 6:35 p.m. with a fireworks show at end.  Purchase your tickets and $4.00 of each ticket sale will benefit The Salvation Army here in Nashville as we assist families and individuals with food, housing, rent/utility assistance, GED classes, finance/budgeting classes, health/wellness classes, youth programming, summer camp, child care, computer classes and disaster services.

username: SalArmy / password: Sounds

Lt. Colonel Charles White will be throwing the first pitch, so order your tickets, mark your calendar, gather your friends and “Take Them Out to the Ballgame!”

Announcing the Milt Servais Learning Center and Computer Lab

Nashville, TN - The Salvation Army held a special ribbon cutting ceremony today at our Magness Potter Community Center. In attendance were members of The Salvation Army’s Advisory Board, Commanding Officers, and Staff, along with the Servais Family and Friends. The computer lab and learning center will officially be for the Northeast Nashville community served by The Salvation Army Magness-Potter Community Center.

The computer lab will be a resource to the community along with over 50 Life Skills classes that are offered on a weekly basis. In the lab, beneficiaries will have access to computer training, educational research and development, resume writing and much more! Youth who attend The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Kids Club after school will have access to computer lab tutoring and the opportunity to complete homework assignments. The 12 work station computer lab and learning center was made possible by an endowment fund that was created by friends of Milt Servais, employee and community icon.

Milt Servais’ commitment to service through The Salvation Army began when the Army rescued his family from a dump in Green Bay, Wisconsin during the Great Depression when he was 10 years old. The Salvation Army provided the Servais family food, shelter and badly needed medical care. And, they introduced the family to Jesus Christ. Milt Servais took all of that appreciation and responded throughout the rest of his life to the “least of these” – especially to impoverished youth and families. “In light of what youth need today, the impact of a computer lab with mentors would delight my dad,” son and Salvation Army employee, Mike Servais expressed. “He gave his life to the youth for Him.”

Lt. Col. Charles White explained, “Most kids in this community don’t have computers at home, so a computer lab represents a safe access to their world and will lift them to new opportunities.” Milt Servais’ favorite expression and challenge to all participants at the community center was “Be the reason someone is having a great day.” Mike Servais said, “My dad was the kind of guy who would lead the annual bike parade on a toddler bike. He was a character and he would get the youth to follow him anywhere. During these opportunities he was able to introduce many of them to Christ.” The Servais family has been dedicated to the mission and service of The Salvation Army for over 80 years. The full Servais family story is available on The Salvation Army’s blog. Click here.

The Salvation Army is calling for volunteers to help monitor the computer lab and learning center on a daily basis. If you are interested, please contact our Director of Volunteers, Misty Ratcliff, at 416-3175.

Donations to The Salvation Army’s Youth Programs and Services can be made online at www.salarmy-nashville.org or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

Sort 2 Give!!!

Help us get books into the hands of children!  The Salvation Army is excited to be a part of this campaign with United Way of Middle Tennessee to provide books to children all over Nashville!  Help us, help them!  We are currently looking for folks to help us sort the thousands and thousands of books received.  Got a few hours, we could use you!  Please scroll down and RSVP for the best location and date/time that would work best in your schedule!

Board Books for Babies

We need your help! Support the 2012 Board Books for Babies Days of Action by donating online. Thanks to our partnership with Ingram Content Group, we can purchase 2 books for the price of 1! Visit our website for details.

 

Share the details of the Day of Action with your friends and co-workers!

 

RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends.

 

Download and print a copy of the Day of Action poster.

 

Day of Action Sort-a-Thon (2 Shifts)

Thursday, March 22, 2012 

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

The Salvation Army
611 Stockell Street, Nashville, TN 37207    

 

3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Fannie Battle Day Home for Children
108 Chapel Avenue, Nashville, TN 37206

Swing by for 20 minutes or stay an hour! Volunteers will sort donated board books for distribution.

RSVP now to one or both shifts!

 

A Vein of Gold

The Salvation Army released a report nation wide regarding the economic impact on Salvation Army Youth Services.  To read this report in it’s entirety, please click here.  This report highlights the various programs currently offered around the US, the increase in the demand for services, the recession’s effect on the operation of these services, how the community can help and what the future holds for the youth programs of tomorrow.

The Salvation Army here in Nashville has operated the Magness Potter Community Center since 1940 and have been miners in the name of Jesus for that “vein of gold” that is contained within each child that calls the Northeast Nashville community home.  The many leaders and staff, volunteers and donors throughout the years have made it a life’s mission to discover, harvest, polish and witness the shine from the hearts, minds and souls of our youth.  We have provided them with a “safe” place to venture to after school or during the summer where they can learn team building skills, leadership, respect, creative arts, sports and most importantly how Jesus loves them no matter what!  I wrote a blog back in August 2010 about the center called “Gym Floors and Sand.” I wanted to shed light on the history of the center, and all of the lives it helped shape over the years as well as thank our community for it’s years of support!

Our children are the future, let’s never grow weary in protecting them, encouraging them, empowering them, educating them and revealing to them, the masterpiece they truly are in God’s eyes!

1 Timothy 4:12
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

You’ve Got A Friend - A Disaster Services Update

It’s been 2 days since the devastating storms swept thru communities within Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee leaving behind destruction, injury and loss of 38 lives. It’s been 4 days since storms swept thru Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri resulting in 13 fatalities. The Salvation Army has been working in all of these hard hit areas tirelessly providing prayer, meals and clean up kits to our brothers and sister who seek hope and light as they stand surrounded by darkness and uncertainty.

Here’s a quick recap on on where we’re at and what we’re doing:

The Salvation Army serving in Missouri, click here

The Salvation Army serving in Kansas, click here

The Salvation Army serving in Alabama, click here

The Salvation Army serving in Kentucky, click here

The Salvation Army serving in Indiana, click here

The Salvation Army serving in Tennessee, click here

The Salvation Army serving in Illinois, click here

How to Help?

Prayer - please continue to lift up those affected by these storms in your daily prayers!  Pray as well for relief agencies and emergency personnel.

Donation - Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY, Give online, click here donate by texting the word, “STORM” to 80888 for a $10.00 donation

Reminder, 100% of what you give to disaster relief goes to disaster relief!

“if the sky above you, grows dark and full of clouds and that old north wind begins to blow.  Keep your head together and call my name out loud and soon you’ll hear me knocking at your door.” ~ James Taylor, “You’ve Got A Friend”

God has you surrounded and covered with his love, just call on his name; He’s already there!

Love Lives Here - Day 26 - February 26, 2012

This is the view of those who leave our Center of Hope.  A reflection of a life transformed; a life changed.  When they enter, they are broken and how they view life and themselves is distorted and without color.  But as they exit and set off on their new journey, life is defined, color returns and clarity is abounding.  I would imagine that as they open their car door, they happen to catch one more glance of their temporary refuge from the storm.  They see the beacon of hope that assisted them in transitioning from giving up to giving it all to Him!

“if you say, “The LORD is my refuge,
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
 no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.”~Psalm 91:9-13

Love Lives Here - Day 23 - February 23, 2012

Brittany Bingman recalls the many families that were served by the Angel Tree program this past year.  It is fresh and tangible for her because she volunteered every step of the way. 

Still fairly a newcomer to Nashville, Brittany contacted The Salvation Army for some volunteer opportunities since she had recently become unemployed.  During the month of October she served as a Angel Tree case manager interviewing families and individuals who had come in to apply for Christmas assistance. 

Brittany shared one family’s heartbreaking story.

            A father and his two little girls, ages 10 and 12, came in to apply for Angel Tree assistance.  He was on disability because he was recently diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.  The mother was able to keep a part time job to bring in some money for the family, but it wasn’t enough to put Christmas gifts under the tree.  All the little girls wished for this Christmas were art supplies. 

Brittany had determined that this family’s needs were above and beyond what any family could handle and placed them on the Angel Tree.  The program would not only assist them with Christmas gifts for under the tree, but also assist the family with a food card.  Brittany recalled that the father was taken aback by this news and teared up because he would finally be able to afford a Christmas ham for dinner. 

Pausing, with tears in her eyes, Brittany said, “I don’t think people understand how appreciative these families are for the Christmas presents a donor provides.  I can relate because I was one of those angels on the tree when I was younger.”

Knowing the difference Angel Tree made in her life, Brittany, volunteered the entire season for The Salvation Army.  She not only took applications, but she also helped sort, bag and tag, assisted with distribution and stayed long after the doors closed to clean out the warehouse this past January. 

“People may think that volunteering takes hours of time and energy.  The truth is anyone could come get the same experience as I did in just two hours.  That two hours you give can change a life forever.”

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 (NLT)

Love Lives Here - Day 21 - February 21, 2012

No one likes to be alone, no one likes to feel alone yet so many people find themselves in that place whether it’s a reality or not.  Truly we are never alone as God is standing right there with us, shield up to help us deflect the arrows; the hard times, the challenges in our lives. The Salvation Army serves so many people who feel that no one is on their side and that the rough road just won’t smooth out.  Our goal is to help them regain their sight; to see the true reality of their circumstances which is Hope!

Love Lives Here and Love is never Alone here, comrades are close by to offer support, assistance, encouragement, resources and love.  No matter the situation, God can help each person work thru it using The Salvation Army as the vessel and enable the person to see clearly for the very first time.

“I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

The Lord has promised good to me…
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be…
as long as life endures.” lyrics from Amazing Grace

Love Lives Here - Day 19 - February 19, 2012

Hunger- in the form of each hungry person we meet - literally stops at The Salvation Army’s doors … in our own community and in over 120 countries around the world, every day of every week of every month. It stops because The Salvation Army is a place of both physical and spiritual nourishment.

When a person is hungry, they can’t function, or concentrate or do well at anything. Imagine the damage it does to the job performance of hardworking parents … or a child’s ability to learn at school. Hunger is the enemy of hope, and so we fight it, right here in Middle Tennessee.

But hunger stops when people are fed … when their peace of mind is restored … when their lives are changed by purpose where there was none … and when people are given strength to fight life’s battles.

It is the desire of The Salvation Army to serve as the hands of Jesus here in our community - to provide a place where, when someone is hungry, we give him something to eat … and when someone is thirsty, we give her something to drink.

Every Tuesday morning The Salvation Army Breakfast Brigade serves a warm meal to our homeless family and every Friday night the Soup Wagon mobile feeding canteen serves dinner under the Jefferson Street Bridge. With your gifts, we are able to provide 250 families a food box each month through our Emergency Services Center.

Your donation today, will help us fulfill a promise to those in need.
$25 = Food Box for Family of 4
$2.00 = Provides a warm meal to a resident in our transitional housing program
$150 = Homeless Ministry Feeding Outreach to 150 people

Click here to Help Stop Hunger!

“And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” ~ Luke 3:11 (ESV)

Love Lives Here - Day 18 - February 18, 2012

Sometimes the path we take resembles anything but this photo above.  We can’t see what lies ahead and we are discouraged about what is behind us and what continues to follow us on this journey.  We may feel enveloped by our circumstances, covered up and consumed with no ability to breathe let alone survive.  The good news is that we’re not alone and that if we can hold on for just a few steps more, we will see the sun!

At The Salvation Army, many enter into our programs shrouded in darkness unable to take another step.  We are here to hold their hand and provide a way which allows them to see that their situation is only temporary but God is forever.  He can see them through this and that with perseverance, determination, commitment and dedication to life change, they will soon walk with confidence!

Isaiah 42:16, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”