Salvation Army Receives Grant To Help Those Affected By Covid-19

The Salvation Army has received upwards of 15 million in grant funding to be able to continue its work of programming that helps directly with the COVID-19 response. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, they made a decision to move quickly to alter its programs to meet the needs of vulnerable Americans. Millions of people who were already living paycheck to paycheck have struggled in the face of the economic devastation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Salvation Army is trying to help people all over the country to meet their basic needs.

David Hudson, National Commander of The Salvation Army had this to say about the SA receiving the grant:

“The Salvation Army is only able to serve thanks to supporting from others, and we are extremely grateful for the generosity of Lilly Endowment,” Across the country, our dedicated staff is going above and beyond to ensure that our neighbors have access to desperately needed resources, such as food and shelter. This much-needed support from Lilly Endowment will allow us to meet those needs for millions of Americans, and we hope the support will boost awareness and inspire others to give as well”.

Here are some numbers to consider:

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, one in six Americans were already living below the federally mandated poverty line. And when asked 70% of Americans responded that they wouldn’t be able to meet their financial obligations if they missed a single paycheck, which is absolutely terrifying considering the unemployment rate in the face of this pandemic. And that is all before the pandemic even began to hit the United States and the world.

Now, the Salvation Army projects that those numbers are going to increase even more. The long-term impacts of this virus may not even be fully realized yet. Some of these results like layoffs and furloughs and food insecurity as a result of this can be absolutely devastating to families.

The Salvation Army is very familiar with helping people to deal with situations like this. Annually they help almost 23 million Americans to overcome issues like poverty, addiction, and other economic hardships. They provide food for the hungry, emergency relief for economic disasters as well as rehabilitation for people struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. Through 7600 distributions all over the country, the Salvation Army works to help as many people as possible as one of the largest privately-funded direct-serving nonprofit.

Lilly Endowment’s vice president for community development, spoke on the Foundation awarding this $15 million grant:

The Salvation Army is deeply committed to alleviating human suffering – it’s in their DNA, Through outreach to low-income individuals and families in need of food and shelter as well as counseling, mentoring and spiritual support, they care for communities every day. In times of crisis, the Salvation Army is able to spring into action to help even more people through difficult times. We’re grateful for how the Salvation Army is helping our nation during this pandemic”.

According to the Salvation Army, during the Great Recession, the nonprofit reached 10 million requests between 2008-2010. The numbers from this pandemic are expected to be even higher.