{"id":10463,"date":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/atlantic\/2025\/09\/donation-of-meals-reaches-first-responders-through-the-salvation-army\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:00:00","slug":"donation-of-meals-reaches-first-responders-through-the-salvation-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/atlantic\/2025\/09\/donation-of-meals-reaches-first-responders-through-the-salvation-army\/","title":{"rendered":"Donation of Meals Reaches First Responders Through The Salvation Army"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Newfoundland has battled devastating wildfires for much of the summer. Many residents were affected. Trying to get everything under control are first responders such as firefighters and The Salvation Army\u2019s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) team. However, they are not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In true Newfoundlander fashion, many community members across the province stepped in to help the efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\u201cWe cook with lots of love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Mona al-Khalil, who owns the Syriana restaurant in St. John\u2019s, gifted firefighters 60 meals. As someone who was once a newcomer from Syria, she saw this as an opportunity to give back to the country that welcomed her family with open arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe just needed to find a way to say, \u2018thank you,\u2019\u201d Mona shares. \u201cWe cook with lots of love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As soon as Mona\u2019s family learned about the situation, they were ready to help. Her children wanted to volunteer and she began looking for ways to support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI started calling people and going on websites. I met someone who was posting updates on a WhatsApp group who said many firefighters had to buy their food,\u201d Mona adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After learning this, Mona was able to connect with a firefighter, who then contacted Major Rick Zelinsky of The Salvation Army for assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI reached out to the local EDS leader, Bruce Cluett, who was in St. John\u2019s. He met with Mona and coordinated the delivery of the meals to firefighters,\u201d Major Rick says. \u201cGenerosity inspires generosity and it is heartwarming in the midst of disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The firefighters were very appreciative of the gesture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“People don\u2019t know how much happiness they will get from helping or donating.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were ecstatic. Especially about the fact that it was a home-cooked meal,\u201d Bruce shares. \u201cThe family was also excited to help. Mona\u2019s children wrote encouraging messages and drew some pictures for the firefighters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the response has been lengthy due to the severity of the disaster, first responders have been working hard for weeks. It is challenging, physically and mentally. However, for Bruce, witnessing acts of kindness like these gives him the motivation to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt gave me a much-needed boost, seeing so many people willing to help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mona was initially hesitant about getting recognition for her work. However, she eventually realized that sharing could encourage more people to act and assist with the wildfire response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat goes around, comes around. People don\u2019t know how much happiness they will get from helping or donating,\u201d Mona says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Salvation Army serves more than 400 communities in Canada and we can do so thanks to these types of generous actions,\u201d Major Rick concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Juan Romero <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Newfoundland has battled devastating wildfires for much of the summer. Many residents were affected. Trying to get everything under control are first responders such as firefighters and The Salvation Army\u2019s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) team. However, they are not alone. In true Newfoundlander fashion, many community members across the province stepped in to help the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":10468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1073,1059,1],"tags":[1083,1081],"location":[],"class_list":["post-10463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emergency-disaster-services","category-featured","category-general-interest","tag-emergency-disaster-services","tag-food"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Donation of Meals Reaches First Responders Through The Salvation Army - Salvation Army Atlantic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/atlantic\/2025\/09\/donation-of-meals-reaches-first-responders-through-the-salvation-army\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donation of Meals Reaches First Responders Through The Salvation Army - Salvation Army Atlantic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Newfoundland has battled devastating wildfires for much of the summer. Many residents were affected. Trying to get everything under control are first responders such as firefighters and The Salvation Army\u2019s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) team. However, they are not alone. 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