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The Salvation Army Glendale (Arizona) Corps Community Center, led by Corps Officers Majors Clem and Evangeline Leslie, dedicated a newly renovated facility Nov. 1.
The building housing the Glendale Corps has been a staple of the Glendale community since it was opened as Northwest Hospital in 1960, but the infrastructure had gone virtually unchanged since The Salvation Army purchased the property in 1988.
For improved safety and security, and to serve the Glendale community more effectively, the Glendale Corps’ advisory board led a local campaign to fund renovations, such as updating the plumbing, electrical and refrigeration systems, along with creating more productive community educational spaces and more efficient workspaces.
Lt. Colonel Lisa Smith, Territorial Program Secretary, thanked the donors, local advisory board, corps officers and staff, volunteers and community leaders before the official ribbon cutting.
“While the renovation of this place is complete and we’re here to dedicate it to the glory of God and to the service of humanity, I think we all know that the work isn’t finished. This completion just signals a start of new ministry and new possibilities,” Smith said. “There are still children who need a place to come to be safe and to learn about how much God loves them and to learn life skills, and character-building programs will help do that. There are families that are in intergenerational poverty that can get assistance…but more than a handout: a coach, a mentor that can come alongside and show them a way to break that cycle. There are those in bondage to addiction that can come here to get connected to resources and faith-based recovery programs that will free them from those terrible things that bring them down.”
The cost of the project, estimated at nearly $700,000, was funded in part by a $140,000 grant from BHHS Legacy Foundation, an Arizona charitable organization whose philanthropic mission is to enhance the quality of life and health of those it serves.
Bernard Construction Services LLC was the project contractor and donated well over $100,000 in in-kind supplies for the project.
“We know that we are coworkers in God’s service,” Smith said. “I love stories of transformation, and I can’t wait to hear the ones that are coming.”
The Salvation Army Glendale extended its thanks to campaign fund chair Diane McCarthy, honorary co-chairs Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hickman of Hickman Eggs, and the Mayor and Trustees of the City of Glendale for their support of the project.
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