Salvation Army Thrift Store sends nearly 800 Kids to Summer Camps in 2017
The lives of 776 less fortunate kids nationwide will be forever impacted this summer by the generosity of their local communities who supported The Salvation Army Thrift Store’s 2017 Send a Kid to Camp campaign.
Taking place over six weeks in 109 Thrift Store locations, the campaign raised the bar for the seventh year having collected a new record of $170,862 from generous donors. With a national goal of providing support to send 600 kids to Salvation Army summer camps, the Thrift Store’s GoodWorks@WorkTM campaign exceeded expectations by 176 kids.
“There are simply no words that can express the joy felt by all our team members about this amazing success,” says Michele Walker, National Retail Operations Manager at The Salvation Army Thrift Store. “We were driven to provide fresh air, fun and valuable life experiences to children this summer and through our generous guests and partners dreams will come to life for 776 underprivileged kids. Amazing!”
Without the support provided through the Thrift Store and The Salvation Army Camping Ministries most of these children would never experience outdoor activities such as hiking in the woods, mountain biking, canoeing, enjoying campfires, climbing, sports and games. Through group activities they also learn life lessons such as team building, refining social skills and developing independence.
“Thank you to all our supporters, this will make a huge impact on the lives of these kids. Next year we hope to have an even bigger impact for children in the
communities in which we operate,” Walker added.
The annual campaign kicked off on Monday, April 17th and ended on Wednesday, May 31st. During last year’s eight week campaign, the Thrift Stores collected $133,894 to send 608 kids to camp.
This year $66,352 was donated to the Ontario Camping Ministries for Jackson’s Point and Newport Adventure Camps. This will send 270 kids to camp from the Ontario Divisions.
