July Message

Dear Friends,


We hope you enjoyed reading last month’s inaugural blog post!



Although July frequently brings vacation plans, throughout the Metroplex Command we continue to be quite busy. Please take a look at these wonderful stories and photos by clicking on the blog post titles below:

Summer Day Camp

Celebrating is Important

Fit for Life at The Salvation Army Cedar Crest Community Center

Save the Date – You don’t want to miss our Annual Luncheon:

Lemonade for Sale

If you would like to read additional stories, please visit The Salvation Army DFW blog: www.thesalvationarmydfw.blogspot.com

As always, you can follow us on Facebook at salvationarmydfw and Twitter at SalarmyDFW.

We hope that each and every one of you are staying cool this summer and are enjoying all the blessings that summer has to offer.

See you next month!

Warmly,

Captain Michele and Major Ward Matthews

Summer Day Camp

If you visit The Salvation Army Arlington Community Center you will hear the sound of music echoing through the hallways. This summer, they are offering music lessons each day for their summer day camp children.

If you are envisioning music tutorials taught by using chalk boards or studying sheet music for hours, you are wrong.

Forget teaching styles of the past; the center’s teaching technique is far from traditional.

The center has tuned into using technology to help teach music to their young clients.

Helping the children fine tune their music skills is Jeff Barrington, Salvation Army Arlington Community Center Music Director.

Barrington remarks on how his teaching method has changed in order to keep up with the times.

“Kids live in a high-tech world,” Barrington says. “We use Music Ace Maestro and Smart Board which are geared to teach children about music. It is a great interactive tool—gets children interested and makes learning fun,” Barrington said.

See photos of the children having fun…learning music with technology twist!

Save the Date

You will not want to miss this year's Doing the Most Good Luncheon.  This year our special guest speaker is Blake Mycoskie, CEO of Toms Shoes!

Visit our website for the Benefactor Agreement!

Lemonade for Sale!

"Lemonade for sale.... .50 cents per cup!"


When best friends Reghan Barnett and Rebecca Hill  heard about The Salvation Army's emergency food pantry depletion, they were eager to help.

With an entrepreneurial spirit, the girls set up a lemonade stand in their Lake Highlands neighborhood. And within 2 hours they raised $60!

"Some people even gave more than 50 cents when we told them the money was going to The Salvation Army," Reghan said.

Last Tuesday morning, they came by The Salvation Army DFW office to drop off their donation...

On behalf of The Salvation Army, thank you Reghan and Rebecca for your donation.

This will help us provide more food to people in need!

Reghan Barnett and Rebecca Hill met with Captain Michele Matthews, Salvation Army DFW leadership, and Beverly Pop, Salvation Army DFW Development Director.

Celebrating is Important!

At The Salvation Army, we believe it is important to celebrate a person’s recovery in life.

It is important to celebrate recovery and the progress made in building happy families and healthy people.

Last year we celebrated a client graduating from our shelter in Forth Worth. Click here to read this wonderful story – Why Graduation Matters

Recently, we celebrated four individuals who went from being homeless to now having their very own homes.

This accomplishment was far from easy for our clients. They have worked so hard, sacrificed so much, and come so far that it is only fitting that we have a giant party. Celebrating is important!

(left to right) Ms. Jackie Bridges, Salvation Army Irving social worker, celebrates with graduates: Carrie Burrell, Gloria Roberson, Sinja Ross, and Cynthia Billiott.

I Got the Blues....

Do you recognize that slogan?

Kraft!

We got very good news. Yesterday morning, Kraft arrived with a generous donation. Very generous!

$100,000 worth of food was donated to The Salvation Army and three other Irving charities.

(side note: The donation was part of Kraft's sponsorship of the Texas Stadium implosion in April.)

We can not be more thrilled with the food and know it will help us feed more people in the community. Thank you, Kraft!

Take a look at our photos -- Salvation Army employees and volunteers unloading the food and stocking our food pantry.

An 'Ex-Seeding' Summer Day Camp Part II

Last May, we highlighted The Salvation Army Irving Summer Day Camp project: growing a garden!

If you missed the story, click here to see the photos.








Recently, we went back to see how the children are doing– and we are excited to share the project is ‘ex-seeding’ everyone’s expectations.

So far, the children have grown squash, tomatoes, and carrots. The best part… they donated the entire fresh produce back to the center’s food pantry program!

Growing a garden and giving back. Two powerful lessons these children will never forget.

What is homelessness?

We’ve moved….on to a new theme.

The past three months, we have blogged about children. Now we’re switching gears and blogging about homelessness.

For those of you who have followed our blog, you might remember last summer’s stories on homelessness.

If you need a refresher, here are a couple stories.

• One of the hardest things many people have to do is ask ...

• Homeless Teens...

• Are you surprised?

So what exactly is homelessness? And how does it impact our community? Most importantly, what are we doing to help the homeless?

The next couple months, we’ll have posts that will address these questions. And if you have any thoughts or questions, please respond! Leave us a comment.

Stay tuned… it’s going to be fun and we guarantee very insightful!

Captain Kettle Meets New Officers!

Welcome! We’re so happy you are here!!

That’s what Captain Kettle said when he met Lieutenants Patrick and Jennifer Jones – the new officers at The Salvation Army Dallas Temple Community Center.

Having arrived a few weeks ago, the new officers are enjoying their new location.

“Everyone here has been very welcoming,” Lieutenant Jennifer said.

On behalf of The Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Command, we warmly welcome you and look forward to you joining us in Doing the Most Good!

Fit for Life at The Salvation Army Cedar Crest Community Center

Charles Haley, the only five-time Super Bowl winner in the world, worked with kids on fitness at a “Fit for Life” event last Thursday, July 1st. Fitness stations included football passing, weight training, running on treadmills, jumping rope, and running an obstacle course.


Did you know?

The U.S. Surgeon General says health risks among children from low-income families may be 50% greater than for other youth. Experts recommend that children participate in 60 minutes or more of physical activity every day to combat obesity and to promote good health. Obesity places children at an alarmingly high risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, musculoskeletal problems, asthma, injury, behavioral issues, and low academic achievement. Offering additional places for physical activity, or increasing access to such places, can result in a 25% or greater increase in the percentage of people who exercise regularly.

Along with the workouts, children got free food and learned more about the center’s physical fitness opportunities: football camp; basketball programs, the Larry North satellite fitness center, and an aerobic workout room. Plus, they had the opportunity to enroll in the fall football program and the cheerleading program.

Enjoy some pics from the event!

Happy 4th of July!

"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free," John 8:32.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

God Bless America!

Celebrating Love in the Midst of a Disaster

Salvation Army DFW's very own Frank and Bera Calvert celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary on June 30th while heading to South Texas to help with Hurricane Alex. The Calverts are disaster relief specialists and were part of the team that was  recently deployed from Fort Worth.

Instead of celebrating in the traditional way. The Calverts prefer putting their compassion into action to help others.

This is the second time they have worked a disaster with The Salvation Army on their anniversary. The first time, they didn't tell The Salvation Army officer it was their anniversary because they were concerned he would not let them go, and would insist that they stay in town to celebrate their special day.

Read their full story in the Fort Worth Star Telegram!

Congratulations Frank and Bera on 48 years of marriage! We are thankful for your compassionate heart and are honored by your commitment to The Salvation Army in helping those in need.

Frank and Bera Calvert were recognized by the Task Force Incident Commander Victor Taylor of the Department of Public Safety, for 48 years of marriage!

Photo provided by Lt. Stephen Correira