Giving Back Through Volunteering at The Salvation Army in Cobourg

Heather Atkins still remembers the exact date when The Salvation Army entered her life.

On January 17, 1973, she was living in Toronto with her husband and five children in a rented apartment. Another tenant fell asleep while smoking at 2 a.m. and the resulting fire burned down the family’s shared house.

As the fire raged and hope seemed lost, a Salvation Army vehicle driven by uniformed Salvationists arrived on the scene. The family received something to eat and were taken to an Eaton’s department store. The Salvation Army gave hope to the family by providing clothes, warm winter coats, hats and boots.

“That was my first connection to The Salvation Army, and I have maintained my connection ever since. I am giving back what they gave to me,” Heather said.

After that tragedy, Heather joined The Salvation Army church and began volunteering. She currently divides her time between assisting those in need through The Salvation Army Cobourg Food Bank and the Prayer Shawl Ministry. The ministry is a group of 12 women from The Salvation Army Cobourg Community Church, and other in-town churches, who knit or crochet shawls for adults or children in hospital, those that have lost a family member or are confined at home.

“There is a prayer that goes with the shawl that indicates the love that went into making the shawl. It is love and prayer and God’s wishes all wrapped up in the shawl. They feel that love when they put the shawl on,” Heather said.

“I enjoy spreading the love of God and that is the last thing I say as clients are leaving our building. I make them stop in their tracks and I say, ‘One minute, don’t forget God loves you.’ One of our clients, before I said it to her, said it to me last week. It really touched me. She knows that God loves her, and she wants me to know that, too.”

To help The Salvation Army change lives in Ontario, please visit https://salvationarmy.ca/volunteer/ to learn how you can make a difference through volunteering.