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The Salvation Army and community unite to help families.
by Robert Brennan
Recently, The Salvation Army’s “Operation Feed Our Families” campaign, with the help of community and corporate partners, including Feed The Children and the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation, distributed 1,600 boxes of food to the needy of Los Angeles. According to Mortimer Jones, executive director of The Salvation Army’s South Los Angeles Youth and Community Center, “More and more people are coming to us for help and our food pantry cannot handle the increase. Having Feed The Children partner with our own Operation Feed Our Families campaign is a great example of non-profits working hand in hand for the common good.”
Clipper players and coaches helped Salvation Army staff and volunteers distribute the food boxes from 11:30 a.m. until almost 3:00 p.m. With a gymnasium filled with clients and a parking lot lined with people to receive their boxes of food staples, it is sometimes easy to not see the faces and the realize there is a story behind each and every one.
Margaret was one of those faces. She is not your typical volunteer at The Salvation Army’s South L.A. Youth and Community Center. Not only did she give her time to help those who came to receive food assistance at the recent event at South Los Angeles, but she is also a client.
Margaret has a daughter in the sixth grade at the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) charter school located at The Salvation Army’s South L.A. Youth and Community Center. Her daughter wants to grow up to be a nurse. She participates in the many after-school programs that provide a safe and nurturing environment for so many young people in this very tough part of Los Angeles.
Margaret is also the full time caretaker of her 21-year-old disabled daughter at home. She receives government assistance and Social Security insurance that is just enough to keep things going. Being a full time caretaker makes it impossible for Margaret to work outside the home. With the cost of living in Southern California spiraling upward, it wasn’t long before Margaret and her family needed to seek food assistance from The Salvation Army.
Calling the help “a true blessing in our lives,” Margaret is determined to give back the best way she can. Standing for hours helping feed other hungry people is one way in which she is giving back. The Salvation Army is honored to be in a position to help people like Margaret and her family and will continue to do so as long as the need is there.
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