Salvation Army Partnership

When the name ?Salvation Army? is mentioned, most of us immediately picture a cold, frosty morning during the Christmas holidays, with a bell ringer standing next to a big red kettle? collecting donations for the multitude of social services Salvation Army provides. What most people do not know is that The Salvation Army is the largest faith-based disaster relief non-profit in the entire United States!

For the last decade, Hope Force International has had the privilege of being national partners with the The Salvation Army.  We are grateful to have served alongside this time-honored organization in many disaster events here in the U.S., and abroad. When tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and fires strike our country, Hope Force often receives a call from one of The Salvation Army divisions asking, ?Could you please send some of your Reservists to help staff our efforts?? We then select Reservists best suited to serve on Mobile Feeding Units, Warehouse leadership, Incident Command posts, and Chaplaincy roles.  This enables the Salvation Army to quickly assign ?vetted volunteers? to key roles, while allowing Hope Force to have another opportunity for our trained Reservists to serve.

Most recently, Washington State experienced some of the worst wildfires in the state?s history, just after historic flooding that caused loss of life and totaling millions in lost assets.  Shaun Jones, NW Territory Disaster Services Director, phoned Hope Force and said, ?The state of Washington has tasked the Salvation Army with overseeing distribution centers for fire victims.  Would Hope Force have a team to oversee our warehouse operations??

Eager to be of service, Hope Force deployed three of their own staff within hours of the call to go, and later joined by three other HFI Reservists in Wenatchee, Washington. They assisted the fire relief efforts from a Salvation Army warehouse stationed about an hour and a half from the site of the fires. The focus was spent mainly on receiving and distributing the donations that were pouring in, both for immediate and long-term recovery.

We are honored to share the most recent commendations from our friends:

Major Ron Busroe, National Headquarters, Community Relations Secretary:  ?For the past ten years, The Salvation Army has built a truly collaborative partnership with Hope Force International of Brentwood, Tennessee.  They have become an extremely valuable part of our deployment teams, providing the highest quality service possible.  The partnership has worked seamlessly, due in large measure to the fact that our individual missions work so well together.  HFI is a faith based organization and is active in many churches across the U.S.

The Salvation Army and HFI have spent considerable time training together.  We have found their staff and volunteers extremely engaged and highly motivated.  They have brought a high level of skills, as well as a remarkable degree of professionalism to all they are involved with.  HFI Reservists have worked in every territory in the United States and some have deployed to international disasters.  They have been deployed at every level of disaster service and have proven themselves to be among our best partners?.?   

Shaun Jones Service Extension / Disaster Services Director, The Salvation Army Northwest Division: ?It was great to have Hope Force available to deploy to the Central Washington Fires Relief.  The flexibility of the team and willingness to do pretty much anything needed was a blessing.  Your volunteers came trained and understood processes and chain of command, which made the deployment run smoothly.  After working with Hope Force on two different events, I have a great admiration for what you do and the quality of people willing to assist from your organization. Thank you for all you have done, and I look forward to a long and prosperous partnership.?  

Hope Force looks forward to future collaboration with our ?Partners-in-Action? -- The Salvation Army!