People of all ages volunteer their time, talents, and resources to assist The Salvation Army’s work. They are the strength, the muscles moving the body, and therefore, an essential part of our ministry of reaching out to those in need.
During the past months of hardship and difficulties these are the people that never show their faces, but who work extremely hard behind the scenes, to make sure no family, children or person is left behind. Therefore, it is time to say thank you to all our volunteers, even though in most cases, they don´t want public recognition for their precious service. These volunteers go the extra mile every day, don´t get payed, work after hours and are committed and altruistic.
I could write of many cases and situations where our volunteers have made the difference in so many people’s lives. Under the pandemic situation in which we are living, I have seen the best and worst in people; I have witnessed people being discriminated, bullied and forgotten, from senior homes, to hospitals to the different communities we serve. I have seen people being judged on their appearance or treated with little or no respect under the first sign of a sneeze.
The expected fear of the unknown is not a justification to abandon those sick, young or old, that are going through difficulties. Here is where
I must acknowledge my brave volunteers, that still went out, time and time again, putting themselves at risk.
I remember the time where getting a mask reached the price of five Euros, and how exceedingly difficult it was to find any masks. As a response, our volunteers did the research, gathered the materials and got a few sewing machines and started producing masks, to be given away for free, to those that couldn´t buy them.
Your names are too many to be written in this article, so to all of you, in name of The Salvation Army and in the name of so many families and people in need - THANK YOU.
Captain Luis