My name is Donna. My life has been saved! This is a literal statement because the abuse from my husband had progressed to the point where he was going to kill me. And even worse than that he would have done so in front of my three children. He had never abused the children before, but the signs were all present and I knew it was just a matter of time before he started on them too.

People say, “Leave him! Go!” But where do you go? There was nowhere in the area to go, no shelters. How are you supposed to get out safely? And if you have children it becomes even more complicated. You leave on the spur of the moment whenever the opportunity becomes available to you.

Then you find out all of the shelters are full, no rooms available. I left home in the middle of the night with my three children with very few personal belongings. Who was there for us? The Salvation Army was there.

They had a room for us. In the middle of the night at 11:00pm they were there. My kids and I were finally safe. They first provided us with food, clothing, personal hygene items. After that they provided us with spiritual encouragement and hope. We stayed at The Salvation Army for several months until I was able to save up money for a safe apartment away from my abusive husband.

Currently I am still not at a place where I can give back, but when I am I will give generously so that The Salvation Army can be there for someone else in need. Thank you and God Bless.

Donna is a REAL woman whose REAL life was saved because she found refuge at our downtown shelter. Shelter that was available because people like you support our mission. The WIBC Radiothon isn’t just a fundraiser. It’s our best, most effective way to share stories like Donna’s with our community so we can gather enough support to keep those doors open.

Our goal this year is to raise enough support through Radiothon to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter to Hoosiers in need in 2011. If you’d like to help, give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

(Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.  Donna* is currently enrolled in our Continuing Support Program and she continues contact with her case manager once a week.)

The Salvation Army is serious about using your donations to change lives. In fact, about 85 cents of every dollar you donate goes straight into programs that help your neighbors in need with food, shelter and financial assistance. With only about 15 cents left to cover all of our operations, we rely on our community to help us with expenses for events like this. And Hoosier business partners have always taken on that challenge.  Thanks to GFS Marketplace, lunch on Saturday, December 4 is covered!

We still have several meals left available for sponsorship, so if you’d like to help provide a meal for about 50 or so volunteers, we’d love to speak with you! Give Kristen a call at 224-1019.

Just met with our friends from Jillian’s Indianapolis and we’re thrilled to announce the first prize packages of the season. If you’re not familiar, Jillian’s is like a Chuck E. Cheese for grown-ups, but better. You’ll enjoy great food and interactive video games, cosmic bowling and billiards. (And let me tell you, the brownie bites are A-MA-ZING!) Located right downtown Indianapolis, it’s central to everywhere and not just like anywhere. Sounds like a great time, right? Absolutely!

Ready for a little holiday (or post-holiday) fun? Jillian’s has donated three prizes packages, each valued at $275. Each package includes a VIP party for 15 guests, a 7000 point Amazing Game Card and 1-hour of billiards play!

So, now you know the bar has been set high. We’re looking for more great packages to add some excitement and incentive for pledgers during the WIBC Radiothon. Got any ideas? Give me (Kristen) a call at 224-1019.

We’ve all heard the saying, “it takes a village” and that was certainly true this October. The Salvation Army has been priviledged to partner with Tuchman Cleaners and Bob Gregory and our friends from WTHR-13 for the past 24 years to gather, clean and distribute coats to kids in need. Hoosiers are a generous group of people donating enough coats (and dollars to buy more coats) to clothe all of the kids who attended Saturday’s distribution day at the Fairgrounds.

So, we’d like to take a moment to thank all the people and businesses who make this event a success. Thanks to Two Men and Truck for donating their time and trucks to pick up coats around the city and deliver them to Tuchman Cleaners for cleaning. We appreciate the hundreds of volunteer hours spent collecting, sorting and setting up coats for easy shopping. Thanks to Burlington Coat Factory and Walmart for hosting our teams while they shopped with the donated dollars. Thanks to our friends at WTHR-13 for their time helping parents fit their kids with coats. And for the officers from Cops for Kids (pictured above) who joined us to give the kids warm hats and gloves to accompany those new coats! Of course, we can’t forget our friends at the Indiana Pacers, Butler University and the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders for helping us show the families a good time while they wait.

So, are you feeling all warm and fuzzy now? You didn’t miss out on your chance to make a difference in Indy this season. We have lots of volunteer opportunities for you and your group. Check them out here.

Or maybe you’d like to help us with our WIBC Radiothon goal to provide 50,000 meals and 2,500 nights of shelter…go to WIBCRadiothon.org and check out how you can get involved.

“What a perfect trick or treat on Halloween weekend. The treat was 9,000 coats given. No trick involved there at all. We also had a lot of citizens donate. I think we had $7,000 to spend in purchasing new coats” said the man who started this campaign 24 years ago, Bob Gregory.

Approximately 300 volunteers gave up their Saturday and worked in shifts to escort families during their shopping experience at Coats for Kids. Some also worked as runners to replenish  racks of coats when the selections ran low. If you’ve ever wondered who our volunteers are, this year’s force was made up of several church groups, WTHR staff, and other individuals without whom The Salvation Army could not pull off such an event. Volunteer Coordinator Elizabeth Wilhelm said, “It was a great day and everything went so well!”

Once again, Tuchman Cleaners played an important role as the official drop off point, cleaner of coats and delivering the coats to the fairgrounds during the week of the event. On hand to greet the children were the Colts cheerleaders, Butler mascot “Blue” and Salvation Army officers.

“Our warmth goes out to those kids and families that for this year  have a new, nice warm coat. Thanks for the treat!” Bob Gregory, retired weather forecaster for WTHR.

Their $500 donation will help us give kids in need coats, hats and gloves before the snowflakes fly! And there’s still time for you to help, too.

• If you’re a parent, please check your closets at home for gently used coats that your kids no longer need. And please encourage your friends and family to do the same. You can drop off coat donations at any Tuchman Cleaners.
• Make a secure donation on-line here.
• Volunteer to set-up for Coats for Kids by calling Elizabeth at 224-1010. It takes an organized team to distribute thousands of coats.

Hoosiers have never let their neighbors in need down. We’re counting on our community to come out in full force to make sure that no kid goes without a coat this winter. And thanks again to the Lumina Foundation for supporting Bob Gregory’s Coats for Kids campaign!

Locally, our donations were down nearly $300,000 for 2009-10. That’s about 10 percent of last year’s Christmas fundraising goal! Ironically, we’ve seen a spike in requests for financial assistance for rent and utilities and for food. In fact, we’ve served about 4,000 more of our neighbors in need in spite of bringing in less funds. How’d we do it? Cash reserves. The Salvation Army is pretty financially savvy when it comes to endowments and savings. Thankfully, when that rainy day came this year, we had the resources to continue to serve, and serve more, without tightening the belt too much. That won’t be the case in months to come.

We’re gearing up for our Christmas season and it looks like it’s going to be a busy one. We’re really hustling to gather enough coats to meet our community’s needs at our Coats for Kids distribution on October 30. The final days of collecting are upon us. If you haven’t had a chance to swing by a Tuchman Cleaners and drop off those coats, now’s the time. And you can always donate towards a new coat at on our secure website.

It’s also the perfect time to start thinking about our 16th annual WIBC Radiothon coming up on December 3-5. We’re looking for 32 businesses to become hourly sponsors and set the foundation of giving for listeners to call in and pledge. There are lots of ways to put your company’s dollars to work for your community. Check out our event website and find out how you can join Indianapolis Colts’ Tom Zupancic and 93 WIBC/1070 ESPN’s ‘Big’ Joe Staysniak in supporting The Salvation Army’s life-changing programs right here in Central Indiana.

We’ve proved that The Salvation Army is “doing the most good” with less, can you help us do even more? Call Kristen at 224-1019 to find out how.

Thanks to all of our community parnters who supported us with booth, table and promotional sponsorships as well – the Emmis family of stations (93WIBC, 1070 The Fan, B105 and Hank FM), WTHR-13, Complete Office Supply, Adrian Orchards, Two Men and a Truck, Huntington Bank, ComedySportz, Cartridge Specialists INK, Graphicon, Unique Home Solutions, the American Legion, Avon, HVAF and Indy Custom Cornhole. Bandwagon put on a great show, too!

And thanks to our community for coming out and putting those lunch dollars to work for a good cause! If you’d like to learn more (or buy one of those great t-shirts) about our programs that support our neighbors struggling with homelessness and abuse, go to HomelessnessBites.org

The Indianapolis Colts make headlines wherever they go – especially when they moved training camp back to Anderson University. And the city of Anderson has been grateful for the positive exposure.

This week, the Colts and the city teamed up to put others in the spotlight – five local charities, including The Salvation Army. With input from city officials, Colts owner Jim Irsay chose five charities as recipients of a $25,000 gift to make a difference in Anderson. “In talking to everyone on our staff, they all say the welcome [back to Anderson] has been tremendous,” said Colts owner Jim Irsay (pictured at left). “The makeover at the university has made this so different than it was in the ’80s and ’90s. We can bring literal money to the city and economic impact. But we can also bring inspiration. We want to do what we can even though we feel the impact as well.”

“We like to be part of the community and show our appreciation,” said Irsay, during a brief ceremony at the Kardatzke Wellness Center at Anderson University after the team’s morning practice. “The economy here has been tough on jobs and tough on charities. From those who are given a lot is expected a lot.”

Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon said the city had some say in where the money went. “We submitted the names of five organizations we felt were in great need of help,” Ockomon said. “They (the Colts) used three of our suggestions. They had two they wanted to include themselves. This helps these people continue to have hope.”

Five local nonprofits will share the $25,000 Colts’ donation equally

• Salvation Army
• The Christian Center
• The YMCA
• Anderson Black Expo
• Anderson Public Library

To access the article via The Herald Bulletin: http://heraldbulletin.com/breakingnews/x370355589/Colts-give-back-to-Anderson

http://heraldbulletin.com/breakingnews/x370355589/Colts-give-back-to-Anderson

Major Amick was all smiles accepting the donation saying, “times are every bit as challenging as they were last year, so it’s exciting to see the community rise up to help us reach out to IPS schoolchildren and give them the tools they need and the hope to succeed.”

In fact, in this its second year partnering with The Salvation Army, Huntington has more than doubled the backpack donation to Indianapolis schoolchildren. In fact, this year, The Salvation Army will distribute about 600 more backpacks than in 2009. Those backpacks, provided by Big Lots Inc. at a significantly reduced rate to Huntington Bank will be packed along with donated school supplies and given to children at Salvation Army community centers as well as the Women’s and Children’s Shelter and at least one IPS elementary school.  

Huntington knows how much of a financial strain school supplies can put on a family. Prior to each school year, Huntington Bank releases their annual Backpack Index to access the impact that the cost of school supplies and extracurricular activities has on families. According to the 2010 Index, it costs parents about $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and $1,000 for high school students to return to the classrooms. “Providing school supplies to Indiana children in need is a large part of what the Huntington Backpack Index is all about,” said Huntington Bank Central Indiana President Mike Newbold. “We not only want to call attention to the costs to send a child back to school prepared to learn, but also help out families who are having a difficult time making ends meet.”

The Salvation Army would like to thank Huntington Bank and Big Lots Inc. for their partnership.