Salvation Army

THE SPLIT BETWEEN the Salvation Army and the central coordinated clearinghouse for Carroll County's annual fall charity drive may hurt fund-raising efforts by both organizations.Or it may prove that Carroll countians can be more generous if given a choice of charitable channels through which to direct their holiday contributions to the less fortunate.We hope that the latter is true, that the threat of dueling campaigns does not materialize, that the community does not abandon its duty to share because of this schism.

It has taken Diane Johnson less than a week to find her first major task as the new commander of the Salvation Army office in Glen Burnie: Look for larger quarters."

Programs that provide back-to-school supplies for the needy are looking for money and other donations.The Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services and the Board of Education has 200 low-income elementary school pupils still in need of backpacks and school supplies for the first day of school.Would-be donors are matched with pupils who need supplies. They then may deliver a book bag of whatever the children need to their schools by Aug. 30. School starts the next day. Cash donations also are accepted.

Peggy Vick of the Salvation Army says she's is "thrilled with the response" she has gotten from the business community this holiday season."The neat thing that has happened this year is that corporations are realizing that the business sector is helping the non-profit sector," she said."

The national shortage of Salvation Army bell-ringers and red kettle-minders has washed right over LaVerne Schmidt.She stands in front of Cross Street Market, a 53-year-old grandmother of eight, 112 pounds of cheerful "Merry Christmases" from Armistead Gardens. Her children and her husband told her she wouldn't be able to stand on her feet eight hours a day, six days a week.But she does it. "Thank you, hon," she says to a woman who made the red kettle clang. "God bless you."She told her children she was going to try it, at $6.50 an hour.

Thanksgiving's a week away, and human service organizations and community groups are working hard to make sure no one will go without a holiday dinner.The Howard County chapter of the Salvation Army, which expects to serve 450 families through its holiday clearinghouse this year, will accept applications for help until noon on Thanksgiving eve."Have you heard of the one-armed paperhanger with fleas?" said Maj. Paula Meehan, describing her work as coordinator of the Salvation Army's holiday effort.

Some are young mothers who softly ask for a little food to tide themover another month.Others are newly laid-off workers struggling to pay their mortgage and car insurance bills.They're often embarrassed to have to ask for anything. But many of the people who walk through the Salvation Army's doors each day need much more than a square meal. They need a job.With the help of computer technology, the North County Salvation Army, at 7483 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., is expanding its traditional services.

The Salvation Army, which serves more than 7,000 people a year in Glen Burnie, is looking to move from its cramped Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard quarters to larger offices.The decision came last week as the agency ended its free used clothing and household goods program for lack of space."The building that we're in we've outgrown," said Peggy Vick, director of the Glen Burnie office. "We've quadrupled the number of people we serve."Six years ago when it moved to its current location, the Salvation Army was helping fewer than 2,000 people a year.

TWO YEARS AGO, when North Arundel's Salvation Army moved to a new headquarters in the Glen Plaza Shopping Center along Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard, it was able to double its space. The location seemed ideal. It was near the No. 17 bus line that runs from Pasadena to Baltimore. The new premises had storage space and the rent was reasonable.Recently, though, the Salvation Army got some bad news. It was told that its two-year lease would not be renewed when it expires Dec. 1. Worse yet, the Salvation Army must vacate its current facility in the middle of the kettle drive -- its major annual fund-raising event -- unless it gets a reprieve.

The Salvation Army has been moving office to office around Westminster for 10 years, running social services and religious programs, but never having enough space for baseball games or summer day camps.Now the international Christian evangelical and social services organization has solved its local space needs by buying a closed miniature golf course.The newly renovated former Sunshine Recreation clubhouse at 300 Hahn Road was dedicated yesterday with a brass band and soldiers for the Lord outfitted in traditional navy-blue uniforms with white "S" insignia.