Salvation Army participates in #GiveFromHomeDay

Salvation Army has added itself to the list of nonprofit organizations participating in #GiveFromHomeDay on Tuesday, as an effort to encourage community donations to make up for lack of funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the #GiveFromHomeDay website, nonprofit organizations have likely experienced “drastic impacts” on programs and budgets due to the pandemic, but at the same time, the mission they serve needs attention and energy “now more than ever.”

“As our fellow Americans continue to work, learn, play and connect from home, you can ask them to ‘Give from Home’ too by participating in #GiveFromHomeDay,” the website says.

“Even amid this unprecedented crisis, many are anxious to help neighbors and strangers alike who struggle with the economic and health impacts of COVID-19.”

The Salvation Army of Hot Springs Captain Bradley Hargis said the #GiveFromHomeDay platform is designed to reach back out to donors and tell them, “Hey, this is what our needs are in the midst of COVID-19, and this is the way that you can help out nonprofits.”

Hargis said it is also a safe way to

help out from home since donations are given electronically.

“I think a great reason to donate at this time would just be to really just continue supporting the work of the Army, just because in a lot of ways a lot of the needs we’re meeting are very much basic necessity needs,” he said. “… The biggest thing we do in Hot Springs is going to be our feeding program.”

Hargis explained what the need for food in the Hot Springs community currently looks like.

“About 100-120 people eat per night at the Red Shield Cafe,” he said. “Of course it has been slightly more during COVID-19, sometimes it has even hopped up close to the 200 number. But I will say that 80% of those are adults and 20% of those are kids, so that definitely in a lot of ways puts things into perspective.”

The Red Shield Cafe, 115 Crescent Ave., is The Salvation Army’s free cafe, providing dinner to-go Monday-Friday and lunch on Sunday, to anyone in need.

“I can’t imagine all of this going on, and also not being able to provide for my family,” Hargis said. “And I think that’s a really great reason to give; no one wants to see anyone go hungry, and I will say we have a very giving community that steps up and meets that often, so we just wanted to give them another opportunity to continue doing that and kind of give them an update on what TSA is doing these days really in these very much unprecedented days that we’ve never really been in before.”

He noted all the money raised within Hot Springs ZIP codes will benefit the residents within those areas.

“It’s not going to some corporate account or something like that,” he said. “All the money raised will be kept local.”

For the full list of nonprofits participating in #GiveFromHomeDay, visit http://www. truesense.com/givefromhomeday. To donate, visit http://www. salvationarmyusa.org. Donors can choose which The Salvation Army location they want to donate to.