The Salvation Army exists to share the love of Jesus Christ, meet human needs and be a transforming influence in the communities of our world.
Our Core Values are:
Hope – We give Hope through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Service – We reach out to support others without discrimination.
Dignity – We respect and value each other, recognizing everyones’ worth.
Stewardship – Responsibility manage the resources entrusted to us.
While the Salvation Army is a spiritual organization, our Founder General William Booth believed that we needed to do more for our disadvantaged populations than just providing a Christian education.
One of William Booths’ beliefs was food security. By ensuring that individuals and families have access to nutritious foods, it helps them to go from a poverty mindset to a possibility mindset. William Booth also believed, and we still do that it is really difficult to make life changing decisions if your stomach is rumbling from hunger, your body is shivering from not enough clothes, or you have no place to lay your head at night. We meet people at their point of vulnerability and journey with them through life changing decisions by meeting basic human needs.
The Salvation Army in Canada begun its work in 1882 and quickly began giving hope to those in need in this country. The Salvation Army in Prince George opened in 1921 and provides different services to the community. Some of the services we offer are personal development; free income tax preparation; back to school supplies; Emergency Services (fire victims); emergency and non-emergency thrift store vouchers; out-reach programs; advocacy; Christmas Hampers (Adopt-A-Family); Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy; and the Food Bank.
We do not have a specific target clientele that we reach, as we assist those who walk in the door needing assistance. The Food Bank sees a higher number of disadvantaged population of individuals and families that are experiencing food insecurities. The Food Bank serves approximately 3632 individuals and families yearly. It also distributed 10,759,20 lbs of food yearly in the Food Bank. The Food Bank served 50 other service agencies and schools and distributed 165,995 lbs of food to them.
By collaborating with Service Providers like shelters, schools, treatment centers and transition houses, it allows the Food Bank to reach more of the population that is struggling to keep food on their tables. We currently have 45 different Service Providers in the community that we have partnered with to assist with meeting the needs of those in our community.
The Salvation Army in Prince George currently employs 35 individuals, and has roughly 95 volunteers. Those volunteers contribute over 600 hours monthly to support the programs we run. The employees and volunteers work together and support each other in order to provide successful programs to individuals in the community.