Sally Ann calls for tents for Haiti

With some 200,000 Haitians currently homeless after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that shook their country, Salvation Army is making a push to put a roof over those people's heads.

"They need protecting from the elements," said Stephanie Morris, manager of a local Salvation Army Thrift Store. "With the rainy season coming on, and there's some 200,000 homeless people now in Haiti, the need is really great."

The Salvation Army in Canada is aiming to raise 100 tents through its Tents for Haiti initiative. Each UN approved tent costs $500 and can house 10 people.

"We're looking for any donation, whether it's a dollar or $10. It can be anything at all, but we just feel this need is really great and Oakville is such an amazing community when it comes to helping out," Morris said.

The Christian organization began the fundraising about two weeks ago and will continue until it has met its goal of buying enough tents.

Morris also noted that Salvation Army has been working in Haiti for about 60 years.

"The Salvation Army was one of the first people to come to the aid of the Haitians immediately after the earthquake because they were so well established there as we are in many poor countries," she said.

People can make donations at the local store, located at 356 Kerr St., or at any other store. Tax receipts are available. Store locations can be found at www.tstores.ca .

To donate by mail address the envelopes to:
Salvation Army, Tents for Haiti
2360 South Service Rd. W.
Oakville, ON
L6L 5M9

With faith comes fire

By Marni Soupcoff
Posted: February 23, 2010, 10:30 AM

http://www.nationalpost.com/

A growing child goes through clothes faster than Paris Hilton. That’s why parents of a growing child usually have a donation-bag of used clothes hanging around in their trunk at all times, and I am no exception. I’m always on the lookout for a drop-box where I can unload my son’s latest cast-offs and preferably benefit a good cause. Anything reasonably charity-related will do.

Or it used it to. Lately, I’ve started taking the extra few minutes of planning and driving it takes to head specifically for the Salvation Army thrift shop located not far from my home. Considering that I am religious in my laziness and incorrigible in my agnosticism, this is a big deal. In the past I often ended up at the Goodwill thrift shop, which is about a block or two closer to me and qualifies in my books as a good enough cause. But the disincentives started to accumulate.

The Goodwill shop has no 24 hour drop slot, so when it’s closed, donations pile up outside in disorderly lumps. These lumps attract homeless people — and others looking for a better deal than even the Goodwill store can offer — which means that after hours, there are usually several shadowy characters lurking in the drop-off area. Before you accuse me of being biased against the homeless (or the thrifty), I call these folks “shadowy” because that is literally how they appear. The outside of the store is poorly lit. Combine that with the graffiti on the shutters and the place ends up giving off a ghetto-hell vibe that makes it positively uninviting.

On the other hand, the Salvation Army thrift shop, which is just a minute away on the same street, is neat and brightly lit after hours. There’s no graffiti, but there is a 24-hour drop slot, which probably explains the absence of junky piles and uninvited junk sifters eyeing you suspiciously.

Well, it’s true that these circumstances alone were enough to put me off Goodwill and onto the Salvation army. (One feels vulnerable alone at night with only an overstuffed bag of Superman pyjamas and puny socks for protection.) But there’s more to this story. I also started to think that the differences between the stores are no coincidence. They are a reflection of the way the two organizations approach their charitable work: The people at Goodwill are doing their job. The people at the Salvation Army are on a mission. Literally.

The Salvation Army is what political types like to call a “faith-based organization.” Normal people would call it a Christian Church. Its explicit mission statement is to “share the love of Jesus Christ, meet human needs and be a transforming influence in the communities of our world.” Members are motivated not by a pay cheque or a public service requirement or even a vague sense of helping out, but by a passionate belief that they are doing God’s bidding by empowering the poor.

It’s no wonder, then, that they’re more likely to do the little things that make a big difference. Removing graffiti as soon as it appears. Making sure the drop-off area is clean and well-lit.

This kind of pride in detail is self-perpetuating and infectious. Graffiti artists are less likely to target a place that looks well cared for and bright (which keeps it looking that way). People are less likely to chuck their donations on the sidewalk if the sidewalk is clear of debris and there’s an easy alternative available (which keeps the sidewalks clear to begin with).

Whether the Salvation Army is, in all cases, a more effective organization than Goodwill, I am no position to say. What seems obvious, though, is that with a few exceptions, religious charities will always have a decidedly more dedicated and driven workforce simply by virtue of who they are, and that’s a recipe for success.

And yet, too often, attempts to exploit this natural advantage to help even more people are met with knee-jerk resistance. In Winnipeg, a non-profit group called Youth for Christ is investing $11-million to build a downtown complex for troubled youth that would be open to all, and the city is kicking in $2.6-million and a land grab to help.

The response?

Complaints. A university of Winnipeg professor named Jim Silver, whose research is urban and inner-city studies, whined that “city council [is] supporting these outsiders who are coming in and think God will solve everything. It’s awful. This isn’t the right way to meet the needs of kids in the inner city. This is a colonial attitude.”

Spare us the drama. Youth For Christ stands a good chance of keeping a large number of kids off the streets and out of juvenile detention. What’s the worst that could happen? Some of these kids become religious and go on to effectively help others? God forbid.