Happy Thanksgiving!

On behalf of everyone here at The Salvation Army, I’d like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you find yourself surrounded by family, friends, and good food tomorrow. Remember, though, that not everyone is so lucky. We have plenty of opportunities coming up soon for you to help those less fortunate – just check out our volunteer button to see and sign up for them!

And if you find yourself out shopping on Black Friday, look for our Red Kettles and show our bellringers that you also believe in making things a little easier for our neighbors in need.

With all the great deals going on in the shopping world, it’s the perfect time to pick up a new toy for a child who otherwise wouldn’t have one. You can drop off new, unwrapped toys at any Indianapolis Dunkin’ Doughnuts location, Ashley Furniture, Ed Martin Automotive Group, and the Walmarts located in Avon, Brownsburg, Camby and on Keystone.

THANK YOU and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

~Elizabeth

Come Celebrate with us!!!

On Thursday, November 16th, The Salvation Army of Indiana will be kicking off the official beginning of our Tree of Lights campaign! That means you’ll be seeing bellringers and red kettles out and about soon. Remember that every penny counts. We have a lofty goal of $3 million dollars to raise this year just to keep our community programs up and running – and without your help, we couldn’t continue Doing the Most Good.

To celebrate the kickoff of the season, we’ll be holding a ceremony on our front lawn (3100 N. Meridian St.) at 11:15am on Thursday and it’s open to the public. WISH-TV 8′s Eric Halvorson, our Tree of Lights Chairman, will be present to help us with this event, as well as the Pacers’ Quinn Buckner, Terri Stacy and Joe Staysniak of the WIBC Morning Show, the St. Richard’s singers, The Salvation Army Brass Ensemble, and other corporate sponsors and supporters of The Salvation Army.

We’d love to see you and your friends and family present for this important beginning.

See you Thursday!

~Elizabeth

Bring a Toy to the Fairgrounds on Thursday!

Well, we’re starting to get the numbers in, folks. The number of people in need for Christmas Assistance in Indianapolis is on the rise and you can help by donating a new toy to our Toy Drive.

Tomorrow (Thursday), we’ll be at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in the West Pavilion participating in the Christmas Gift and Hobby Show! Look for the kettle, bellringers and toy donation box in the Christmas Area of the Show.

 Don’t have time to buy a toy? All the money that goes into the kettle will be put towards purchasing toys for Toy Shop (taking place December 17th if you’d like to volunteer!).

See you tomorrow!

~Elizabeth

What A Need…

Thank You to all the volunteers who helped last night with conducting Christmas Assistance interviews. We had 150% more people apply for Assistance last night (the first night of accepting applications) than who applied on the first night last year. We have a big job ahead of us if this trend continues.

Here’s how you can help:

• Volunteer to take Christmas Applications (must be 18+ and go through a brief training session)
• Conduct a Toy Drive at your work or church
• Drop off a toy at and Central Indiana Dunkin’ Doughnuts location
• Bring a toy to the Christmas Gift and Hobby Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Thursday, November 12th
• Shop online with The Salvation Army and JCPenney’s Largest Online Angel Tree Giving Program
• Volunteer to help with Toy Shop Set-Up (December 15-16) or with Toy Shop Distribution (December 17)

Of course, this list is just an example of what you could do to help. There are countless other ways that you can use your time and/or money to help those less fortunate this Holiday Season. If you need help finding something you can do, please give me a call! I’d be more than happy to find a good fit for you in The Salvation Army.

~Elizabeth