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Gala raises funds for the Marion Pritchett School for Pregnant and Parenting Teens.
By John Stennett, Major
The Salvation Army in Boise, Idaho, celebrated its 125th anniversary at the 22nd annual Harvest Gala Sept. 13 at the Boise State University Stueckle Center. The event raised nearly $50,000 for the Marian Pritchett School for Pregnant and Parenting teens located at the Booth Memorial Campus.
After opening performances by the Nampa Corps youth choir and percussion group, Alicia Cooper, graduate of the Marian Pritchett School, spoke. While at the school, Cooper gave birth to a daughter with a serious medical condition. She expressed appreciation to The Salvation Army and her teachers, who supported her through the first months of motherhood. Cooper currently works as a family care specialist with Intervention Specialists.
“I was so inspired by the poise and wisdom of our guest speaker,” said Major Candy Stennett. “Having graduated just seven years ago, she is an outstanding example of a young mother who is both self-sufficient and already making phenomenal contributions in the lives of countless families through her vocation as an intervention specialist.”
Marlene Puckett, advisory board member, received an award for 20 years of service on the board. Representatives from Project Share, a utilities assistance program, were honored for 30 years of partnership with The Salvation Army.
The Harvest Gala took place on the same date that the work of The Salvation Army began in Boise in 1887, when two single female officers—Captain Lizzie Kiefert and Lt. Ella Hollcraft—took a train from Salt Lake City to the newly opened Boise City train depot. Although only 3,500 people lived in Boise City at that time, the work of The Salvation Army grew quickly to the point where crowds of over 200 people were participating in open-air meetings.
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