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The Army is the second-largest charity in
America — the United Way is number one — a fact that's
astounding when you consider that it isn't even based in the
U.S., but is headquartered in London.
The Salvation Army has a devoutly
religious mission, rooted in its founding in 1865 by an
evangelical protestant minister (and former pawn broker) named
William Booth, whose early motivation was to convert poor
Londoners — and eventually prostitutes, gamblers and alcoholics
— to Christianity.
Recognizing that his followers needed more
than just religion to improve their lives — and that the way to
attract the destitute was the provide services — Booth provided
meals, clothing and other assistance to his early converts. He
was famous for saying, "Nobody ever got saved while they had a
toothache." The quasi-military name "Salvation Army" was given
to the charitable church in 1878 — Booth had been known as its
"general" even before that — and the first U.S. chapter opened
around 1880.
A San Francisco Salvation Army captain
started the first kettle fundraising drive in 1891 and by 1897,
the program was running nationwide; that year, it helped provide
Christmas meals to more than 100,000 people. In 1901, the first
of many mass sit-down Christmas dinners at Madison Square Garden
was funded by kettle donations. Despite
occasional
bans over the years on
kettle set-ups outside stores and malls, which sometimes
prohibit the bell ringers on the grounds that they block foot
traffic and invite others to solicit at entryways, the Salvation
Army says it raised $118 million through the program in 2007.
(The charity is also in the process of distributing a
$1.5
billion donation from
Joan Kroc, the wife of the founder of McDonald's, to open
community centers around the country.) In the U.S., there are
nearly 8,000 Salvation Army locations, and more than 3 million
volunteers assisting nearly 30 million people a year. Worldwide,
the charity operates in more than 100 countries.
The Salvation Army is run by "officers"
who, as a condition of their leadership positions, vow to
refrain from alcohol and tobacco and only marry other officers
so they can devote nearly their entire personal and professional
lives to the organization. Future leaders train as "cadets" at
Salvation Army colleges. The charity's right to require that its
employees and leaders adhere to Christian principles, even
though it is partially government-funded, has been affirmed in
the courts. The legal victory was a boon for President Bush's
"faith-based" programs, which President-Elect Obama has said
he will
continue.) The charity
espouses most evangelical Christian beliefs, with some
exceptions; it is pro-birth control, but anti-surrogate
motherhood; it accepts homosexuality, but says gay people must
remain celibate; it is pro-life, but takes no official position
on the death penalty.
With the sagging economy
affecting
overall charitable donations nationwide,
the Salvation Army is braced for a disappointing kettle campaign
this year. But the other mission of the program — publicizing
the Salvation Army brand — is just as important, especially
during these tough times.
© 2008 Time Inc.
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