Lynchburg, VA – It has been a busy couple of days at the Salvation Army in Lynchburg. Officials there saw more than their usual number of people come in to escape the cold.

That’s keeping workers busy in the kitchen preparing meals twice a day. They also helped people in need with a portion of their electric bills.

Captain Evelyn Thornhill says their job is simple: give assistance in any way they can.

“And it doesn’t have to be financial or a meal or lodging. If someone just needs an ear, we have people here that will just talk with them,” said Thornhill.

If you want to help the organization out, the Salvation Army is in need of donations of coffee, creamer and sugar. You can drop off these items at the location on Park Avenue.

Source: WSET.com

Lts. Jimmy and Lacy Parrish and soldiers of the Texarkana Corps did door to door visitation in some of the most impoverished areas of Texarkana the week before Vacation Bible School inviting any children who seemed interested in attending. They offered transportation to and from the Corps each day and invited the young people to worship on Sunday morning. Six months later twenty five of the children faithfully attend the Corps for youth night on Tuesday evenings and ten to twelve attend every Sunday morning. Lt. Lacy Parrish, a product of Vacation Bible School herself, shared the following about her young people. “I always tell our corps folks that what makes these kids so special and unique is that they get up on Sunday morning, not because they are made to, but because they want to be here. They get up, get dressed, and wait for the van to pick them up because we (the Texarkana corps) have taken the time to build relationships with them and have encouraged them in their faith and the Lord has moved in their lives.” The Corps has embraced these young people and look forward to seeing them grow as children of God.

Four additional young people are anxious to finish the Junior Soldier preparation material so they too can be enrolled and wear the uniform like their peers. Lts. Parrish both give glory to God for blessing their Vacation Bible School ministry and using them as vessels to reach the young people in Texarkana. They also give full credit to Vacation Bible School for the growth in their youth programs. Lt. Lacy Parrish adds, “For my husband and I, when we look at these kids, we are always reminded WHY we do what we do. When the days are rough and we feel like the mission has been lost, we are brought back to this and know that God does use us if we only let him.” God also uses Vacation Bible School.

Eleven seconds remain on the clock. Fans rise from the seats.

This north Omaha basketball league, hosted by the Hope Center for Kids and organized by violence prevention groups, is fun and exciting. Along with the games, organizers aim to teach players life skills and encourage them to make good choices.

“I believe every gang member doesn’t want to be a gang member,” said the Hope Center’s pastor, Edward King, who organizes the Village Basketball Alliance. “As adults, we have to provide a positive alternative.”

A Street School player scores on a free throw: 42-41.

The Blackhawks race to the other end of the court. One player misses a layup, then another, then a third.

The players are mostly teenagers and men in their early 20s. Many have gotten themselves into trouble, including gang membership. Some didn’t make their high school teams or weren’t allowed on because of grades or behavior problems.

This league gives them a chance.

“It sounds cheesy, but it’s true — the kids just want to be kids again,” King said.

One second before the buzzer sounds, the Salvation Army’s Julien Parker, 18, sinks a shot for the winning two points. The crowd erupts.

Blackhawks players wear grins for the rest of the night. Parker calls friends to brag.

Tonight, Anthony Miller, 16, and Deonte Green, 17, will go home tired — and that’s a good thing.

“If we had nothing to do, we’d probably be getting into trouble,” Miller said.

Miller moved to Omaha from Atlanta a few years ago, and he brought some bad habits with him. But he said he’s been better lately, not getting into scuffles and not skipping school. Part of it is his father’s influence, but playing basketball every day also leaves little time or energy for those things.

The idea for the Village Basketball Alliance came about a year and a half ago at a meeting of Omaha 360, a group that seeks to unite violence-prevention organizations.

Most of the group’s programs focus on things such as job training and prisoner re-entry. The group needed a way to reach young people with something young people like.

The Hope Center already hosted basketball leagues on a smaller scale at its community center, just south of 20th and Lake Streets. From that emerged the Village Basketball Alliance, an expanded league that includes people from all around north Omaha. It’s now in its third season.

A league like this could have brought problems. Some of the players are from rival gangs or grew up in areas where people generally don’t mingle.

But the Village Basketball Alliance is a haven, one aided by metal detectors at the door and a willingness to bench or expel troublemakers.

Plus, players and fans like the Hope Center’s safe atmosphere, and most don’t want to ruin it.

“It gives people a place to go,” said David Brown, 19, one of the players. “A lot of people don’t want to go anywhere because of the fighting.”

To encourage this, Jannette Taylor bought trophies last season for all the players on the Impact One team, even though many of them aren’t really “kids.”

“It makes them feel appreciated,” said Taylor, executive director of Impact One, a gang intervention organization.

Jamall Robinson, 20, keeps his trophy in the china cabinet with his most valued possessions.

“That’s something big, especially with a trophy that has your name on it,” he said. “It makes you feel good.”

Robinson said he hadn’t participated before in anything like this league, and the little things make a difference.

“I like that we pray before the game,” he said.

His coach, George Devers, helped teach him that “hard work gets you good things” by rewarding Robinson with new basketball shoes. Since the league began, Robinson has graduated from Metropolitan Community College with a lead abatement certificate, and he has a job in that field.

Most of the players have an off-court relationship with the coaches and other adults involved.

That is part of what makes programs like this successful, said Pete Simi, a criminology professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who has studied adolescent delinquency and Omaha gangs.

Though this particular program hasn’t been studied, Simi said, one of the predictors of delinquency is the amount of time teenagers spend without adult supervision.

Also important are the positive reinforcements, especially from mentors such as the coaches.

“It gives kids a sense that there’s somebody who cares about him or her,” Simi said.

This kind of activity has a side benefit of teaching skills like team building, leadership, persistence and work ethic.

“These types of programs can be really critical in terms of filling a vacuum where there’s just a lack of recreational leisure opportunities for adolescents,” he said.

King, the Hope Center pastor, said a lot of the program’s success can be attributed to prayer. Also, once he gave these young men a good, structured way to spend their time, things seemed to work out.

The league’s biggest problem is that the number of players is growing faster than the number of organizations that sponsor teams, so some people have to sit on the bench for too long.

The six teams have about 100 players altogether, with some trying to find playing time for each of 20 players. It’s a good problem to have.

King sees the young men gaining confidence. Their parents often notice a change in their attitude, he said.

And off the court, they continue to get along.

“They may not be best friends … but when they get back out on the streets it raises the respect level and the consideration level,” King said.

Dain Johnson, 20, a former player who now works at the Hope Center, said there are other benefits to the community that has grown around the Village Basketball Alliance.

He once was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. Another young man stopped and said, “Hey, you play in the VBA,” and helped him change the tire.

If they hadn’t had that bond, Johnson said, the other player probably would have driven by.

“Something as simple as basketball can form unity,” he said.

Source: Omaha.com

This winter, Stearns & Foster teamed up with its retailers and committed to donating $100 for every mattress set sold between November 23, 2011 and January 8, 2012 to The Salvation Army residential shelters. Retailers also supported their local Salvation Army residential shelters by participating in a retailer gift-matching opportunity.

“Stearns & Foster is proud to continue the philanthropic legacy on which our brand was founded through our partnership with The Salvation Army,” said Jodi Allen, chief marketing officer, Sealy. “Thanks to our retailers’ support, the second year of our Gift of Sleep program was a tremendous success, and we are thrilled to offer our maximum donation amount of $1 million to those who need it most.”

Starting in February, Stearns & Foster will begin delivering mattresses to The Salvation Army distribution centers nationwide. For more information on the Stearns & Foster Gift of Sleep program, please contact Jenny Sherman at jenny.sherman@mslgroup.com or 312-861-5257.

About Sealy Sealy owns one of the largest bedding brands in the world, with sales of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2011. The Company manufactures and markets a broad range of mattresses and foundations under the Sealy®, Sealy Posturepedic®, Sealy Embody(TM), Stearns & Foster®, and Bassett® brands. Sealy operates 25 plants in North America, and has the largest market share and highest consumer awareness of any bedding brand on the continent. In the United States, Sealy sells its products to approximately 3,000 customers with more than 7,000 retail outlets. Sealy is also a leading supplier to the hospitality industry. For more information, please visit www.sealy.com .

Source: MarketWatch.com

Today we take a look at a very special American Idol contestant, recap Salvation Army Super Bowl celebrations, and share news from our friends in Australia and the UK.

Programas de Música en el Cuerpo del condado de Clay, FL.

El Cuerpo del condado de Clay, está compuesto por cinco ciudades lo cual permite que alli se observe una diversidad cultural bastante amplia.  Tratar de alcanzar esta  comunidad compuesta por diferentes culturas, es un poco complicado, debido a que allí encontramos una variedad étnica muy marcada donde existes distintas mentalidades y puntos de vistas. Por esa razón en nuestro Cuerpo hemos creado programas con el objeto de  alcanzar esas almas. Esos programas son:

La liga de beísbol “Senior”: La cual está integrada por  72 hombres cuyas edades  oscilan entre 40 años y más, quienes se   reúnen semanalmente con unas 150  personas como espectadoras.

Música y Bellas Artes: Este ministerio  abrió sus puertas a los niños de la comunidad en Septiembre 2010. Alli ofrecemos clases de trompeta, corneta, coro, guitarra y piano. Comenzamos con 50 niños y este año ya tenemos un total de 96 niños registrados que participan activamente de este programa. Nuestra intención es que nuestros niños pasen menos tiempo en las calles y más tiempo en la iglesia.

ESL / Programa de Ingles como Segundo Idioma: En este programa tenemos un aproximado de  52 personas que todos los lunes se reúnen para aprender este idioma como su segunda lengua. Almuerzos Multiculturales: Dos veces al año se organizan estos almuerzos después del culto de Santidad donde los soldados, estudiantes y participantes de todos nuestros programas preparan platos tradicionales de sus países y vienen vestidos en sus trajes típicos.

A través de estos programas deportivos y educacionales  la comunidad  y en especial nuestros jóvenes son invitados a participar en el ministerio del Ejército  de Salvación,  la idea no es solo la diversión sino poder compartir el evangelio.

 Nosotros nos sentimos muy satisfechos pues el crecimiento en nuestro Cuerpo es notorio, en el 2009 asistían alrededor de 14 a 30 personas al servicio de santidad, hoy día logramos tener un servicio con aproximadamente 200 personas de diversas culturas y etnias, tenemos personas de: Pakistán, Iraq, Corea, Vietnam, Tailandia, Hispanos, Americanos, Afroamericanos; la mayoría de ellos han sido alcanzados a través de los programas del Cuerpo  y lo que es más hermoso la mayoría decide enrolarse y formar parte de las filas de nuestro  Ejército  de Salvación.

Por: Capitana Valerie Calderón

Anthony Rizzo comes from Long Island, New York and works full-time for Bright Horizons Family Solutions as a teacher and community service liaison. Anthony applied with The Salvation Army in St. Petersburg, Florida in June 2011 and volunteers on his only days off with children in the Red Shield Lodge shelter.

Anthony was an immediate hit in the shelter! He arrived with anticipation, enthusiasm, and bags full of crafts, books, and activities. He volunteered with children while their mothers attended morning workshops and with children of families waiting to register for Christmas assistance. He planned and coordinated monthly activities including a barbeque and holiday activities for shelter mothers and children.

Anthony’s company establishes not-for-profit Bright Spaces for children in Shelters — “safe places for children in times of crisis.” Part of our Family Unit is designated a Bright Space but there was very little contact with the establishing center. Part of Anthony’s job is to reconnect the establishing centers with the Bright Spaces they create in community shelters. He made it come alive again with child care volunteers and enrichment programs. He is implementing his company’s “All Star Volunteer Program” which allows center employees to come once a month for selected activities.

Anthony began his career in child care with Boys & Girls Club in 1996. He has worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters and has been with Bright Horizons for 9 years. Anthony is single and loves to travel. “I like to be behind the scenes. I do these things because I love children and love to do what I am doing.” One person can make an extraordinary difference and Anthony Rizzo has done so for us in a very short time.

For more information on what is happening in the Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa Salvation Army visit the Tampa Bay Area Salvation Army Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyTampaBay.

Sources:

Tracy Henao The Salvation Army, St. Petersburg Florida 727-550-8080 328

http://www.wedu.org/bemore/

Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program turns no-longer used cell phones into support for domestic violence victims and survivors.

Source: www.whec.com

In this fourteenth episode the Territorial Commander, Commissioner David Jeffrey outlines his “focus” for 2012; we hear of the opening and dedication of the Jackson, MS new corps building; and celebrate Lt. Colonel Katie Jaynes 105th birthday! All on Southern Spirit Television.