The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte hopes its newest fundraising marketing campaign will “better the future” of communities it says have been underserved.
The $32 million “Better the Future” effort goals to fund the renovation and enlargement of the nonprofit’s Center of Hope emergency shelter close to uptown, renovation of the just lately acquired Booth Commons Family Center, enlargement of Boys & Girls Club services into Neighborhood Centers, and companies and packages for households experiencing homelessness, in keeping with Maj. Todd Mason, space commander in Charlotte.
“The Salvation Army worldwide has a rich history and tradition, but at the same time, we’re always looking forward and determining where we can help fill gaps in our community,” Mason stated throughout a marketing campaign launch occasion on the Milton Road Boys & Girls Club in east Charlotte on Wednesday.
The Salvation Army collected greater than $12 million towards its purpose throughout a silent part that began final summer time, Mason stated. Now it’s time make the general public conscious of the marketing campaign and make the targets a actuality, he stated.
The Milton Road Boys & Girls Club would be the pilot web site for the Neighborhood Centers, Mason stated. The Salvation Army has already bought adjoining land for a roughly 12,000-square-foot multipurpose heart. The web site will include non-public lecture rooms for adults GED programs, cooking, laptop, monetary literacy and different life abilities lessons, he stated.
A discipline partially funded by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation was put in behind the Milton Road membership in February 2020, and funds from the marketing campaign will go towards neighborhood athletic packages — together with a summer time baseball league, Salvation Army spokesman Brent Rinehart stated. The Charlotte Knights donated baseball gear to the nonprofit, he stated.
The subsequent Neighborhood Centers can be on the Boys & Girls Clubs on Belmont Avenue and Marsh Road, Mason stated. There are additionally Boys & Girls Clubs in Union County that the nonprofit is seeking to broaden, he stated.
“The Salvation Army wants to continue its reach and its ministry to as many people as possible,” Mason stated.
Expanding services, alternatives
To create extra job alternatives for males coping with substance abuse, the Salvation Army will use marketing campaign funds to construct a automobile upkeep store at its Adult Rehabilitation Center on Central Avenue and educate them mechanic abilities, in keeping with Mason.
A brand new gymnasium additionally can be constructed on the Central Avenue web site.
The Salvation Army additionally will renovate and broaden housing facilities to create more room for homeless households, Mason stated. Last July, households moved right into a former extended-stay lodge that’s now named after co-founder Catherine Booth, he stated.
The Booth Commons at Mulberry price $7 million and has loos, kitchenettes and area for as much as 100 households — or round 400 people — at a time, in keeping with the Salvation Army.
The Center of Hope emergency shelter on Spratt Street, in-built 1992, could have a brand new wing constructed on for personal dormitories, in keeping with Mason. It additionally will get new plumbing.
“The campaign is really going to impact a lot of lives and allow us to really expand our reach and capacity,” Mason stated.