Spring Break Fun!
February 22, 2010 by cgrau · Leave a Comment
The Salvation Army is running a fun vacation Bible school (VBS) for Monroe County elemementary students. It’s called “God’s All-Stars” and it runs the duration of Spring Break here in the Bloomington area: March 15-19 from 1-3pm
It’s a great time filled with creative crafts, wacky games, energetic gym time and quality time with special guests coming all the way from Chicago, just for ”God’s All-Stars”!
The best way to reserve a spot for your children is to contact Lt. Catherine. Experienced Salvation Army staff will provide transportation to “God’s All-Stars”, but these spots are limited.
Lt. Jonathan to Serve the Suffering in Haiti
Lt. Jonathan Fitzgerald has been called to duty in Port-Au-Prince Haiti for The Salvation Army’s relief efforts after the devastating earthquake. He is charged with directing food distributions there.
After a phone call at 4:00pm yesterday, Lt. Fitzgerald will leave Indianapolis airport at 7:10pm this evening. He’ll arrive in Miami and via the Dominican Republic onto Haiti. He will work for 30 days, where he will direct food distributions for The Salvation Army.
Lt. Fitzgerald has visited the country three times before and is familiar with Haitian Creole.
For updates, photos and video from Lt. Fitzgerald on his trip, visit bloomington.salvationarmyindiana.org regularly. He will be carrying devices to send information and reports back to Indiana.
Service Celebrates Accomplishments of Children
February 8, 2010 by cgrau · Leave a Comment
Two Sundays ago, youth at The Salvation Army in Bloomington were recognized. In pews filled with family, friends and fellow Salvationists, the students came forward one by one to receive their deep blue sashes. Not only do these look great but they will hold a growing number of badges.
The badges are awarded through two systems: the Adventure Corps for the boys and the Sunbeam Program for the girls. The youth spend up to a month going through lessons on a particular topic and for their participation and ability to know the lessons the youth accumulate badges that eventually fill their sashes.
These aren’t new program either! Since the 1920s, the Sunbeam and Girl Guard programs have reached out to area youth to provide fun, safe activities focused on Christ. The Adventure Corps emerged in the 1980s in the United States for boys. The main point of all of these groups is to promote strong character growth in children.
If you’d like to learn more about either of these programs please contact Lt. Catherine Fitzgerald who oversees the progress of the children.
A Bake Sale in the Atrium
January 25, 2010 by cgrau · Leave a Comment
It turns out that the students at the College Internship Program’s Bloomington Center have been following the destruction and devastation caused by this month’s earthquake in Haiti. It was time to get involved, but what do you do to help with such a big problem?
Bake. And bake they did! The students filled the atrium of the Smallwood Apartment complex with cookies, bars and treats, hoping to raise $60. The students stayed there all day and finally brought in their cash box. With everything counted, the students raised $452.29 for the people of Haiti!
At The Salvation Army, we see this type of generosity frequently! We saw this at 9/11. We saw this in the gulf coast after Katrina. And we are seeing it now. Whether it’s a group of students doing what they can to help or the check that comes in that is meaningful in heart, the American people see the needs of others and respond in the resounding voice of compassion.
If you will, take a lesson from the bake sale in the atrium: when it comes to helping others, what matters is what’s in your heart. God supplies the rest.
