Salvation Army, a blessing to families in need
By Arthur McLean Editor

PHOTO BY ARTHUR MCLEAN Elaine Smith, Salvation Army manager (standing) with volunteers Hazel Parden (left) and Sandra Agee.

Elaine Smith speaks often of blessing, and this time of year, the Salvation Army in Clarke County is a blessing to many families in the area.

Through its Angel Tree program alone this year, 90 families in this area will be able to experience Christmas in ways that their own means could never provide.

Through the generosity of donors and an army of volunteers, the program will provide gifts to more than 170 children this Christmas.

"It's a real blessing to see so many helped, and to see the generosity of the people of Clarke County and our neighboring counties," Smith said.

But that figure of 90 families represents only the neediest of those helped by the Salvation Army here. Today and Friday, the Salvation Army thrift store here in Thomasville is opening its doors to other families who just barely missed qualifying for the Angel Tree program.

As of press time, all but four families had picked up their Angel Tree packages. Hazel Parden and her daughter Sandra Agee volunteered to help sign in the families picking up their packages. "It was wonderful to see the joy it brought to some of those families," Parden said.

Volunteers, Smith said were another blessing here.

More than 300 people volunteered to be bell ringers for the Salvation Army, working twohour shifts from 9 a.m. To 5 p.m. Six days a week from Nov. 17 to Christmas Eve. "They're all volunteers, and we couldn't do it without them," Smith said.

Yet another blessing has been the people of this area. "Nationally giving is down this year, but our area is up. We have such generous people here," she said.

The Salvation Army in Clarke County isn't just restricted to Clarke County. It also reaches out to areas like Sweet Water and Dixons Mills, trying to help those in need.

And the organization's efforts don't stop at Christmas time. The Salvation Army works year-round, often quietly going about its business, including providing food to families in need and immediate shelter to families who may have lost their homes to fire.

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