Pete Booker has been a bell ringer with the Salvation Army for 20 years.//photo by Luigi Ciuffetelli
The Salvation Army is a Christian ministry that provides services to anyone regardless of religion, beliefs or lack thereof. We are called to serve in Christ’s name without discrimination and value each person as God’s creation who is loved beyond measure. We serve regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
The Salvation Army Northern Division has been serving people in need in Minnesota and North Dakota for more than 125 years. We provide basic needs assistance: housing, youth services, rehabilitation, disaster relief, counseling and more, depending on the size and location of individual units.
The unit in Cook County is an Emergency Aid Unit. Since we do not have a building we cannot provide the amount or variety of services available in larger areas. We do have a volunteer committee, called a service unit, which provides for emergency assistance. The criteria for assistance is based on guidelines of the Salvation Army and includes applicants first seeking help from other county agencies such as AEOA fuel assistance, Health and Family Services, Food Shelf, Ruby’s Pantry and other assistance programs.
Major fundraising for the Salvation Army comes from local donors to the Red Kettle campaign. This year’s plan is to run the campaign in a similar manner to recent years. Kettles will be at Johnson’s, IGA, and Tofte with counter kettles available at various other locations throughout Cook County. If you are in the holiday spirit and wish to ring the bell, sing, play, or dance, feel free to do so. Instructions will be at each site.
Last year’s campaign brought in over $10,000 for local emergency needs. We hope to reach that goal again this year. Eighty-two cents of each dollar is used for emergencies in Cook County with the remaining 18 cents sent to the regional unit for administrative costs. Any money left at the end of the year is used for local projects or pooled with other units for regional disaster funds.
Any questions or desire to volunteer can be directed to Cook County Unit Treasurer Sharon Bloomquist at (218) 387- 1714.
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