After a hard year for Salvation Army, businesses offer help

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Back in the summer when we spoke to the Salvation Army, the organization needed donations for everything from clothes to fans was down due to inflation.

Now we’re in the cold weather months and the Salvation Army is still in need of everything from diapers to coats and comforters.

This week, the Surrey Center is partnering with all of its stores to host a holiday comforter and coat drive.

Shoppers are urged to bring in these items while shopping this week.

Businesses in the Surrey Center have red bins outside their stores all week long for the drive.

Those coats will be collected for the Salvation Army to give away. The Surrey Center’s merchants association came up with the idea.

“We get so much support from our local community,” said The Swank Company Owner Hannah Bassali. “We just wanted to do something that we could say thank you and help others in need.”

She says supporting the Center of Hope is important because of the impact it has on the people in need in our community.

“All the donations stay in Augusta. It’s just a great way, something small we felt like we could do to give back to the Augusta community,” she said.

While it may seem small, leaders of the Salvation Army say it makes a big impact.

Salvation Army Augusta, Major Jonathan Raymer said: “We can’t do what we do without the people in the community stepping up helping us raise the money, raise the goods that we need to serve those who are in need, so it’s huge for us.”

The face of homelessness may look different than your picture right now, but the Salvation Army says they’ve served 94 families this year.

“We’ve seen a big increase in the number of families in our center of hope, and we want to be able to serve them as well as possible,” he said.

He says it provides more than just a basic need for the people they serve.

“A lot of these items provide dignity,” said Raymer. “When you come into the Center of Hope for the first time on your worst night, and it’s a rough night, it provides dignity.”

Multiple businesses doing their part to help do the most good.

Bassali said: “The more support and the more people we have that are aware of this need in our community. It’s something we can all work together and have a bigger impact and get the message out even further than someone may be able to do on a smaller scale.”

Other ways to help

• For more information on how you can get involved, visit salvationarmyaugusta.org For more information on financial donations, call 706-922-8369.
• Since we’re in the middle of the Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle Campaign, consider donating while you’re out doing your Christmas shopping.

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