Salvation Army celebrating 125 years of service

The Salvation Army of Newton will be celebrating 125 years of serving the Newton area with an open house, tour and free lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at its location, 301 N. Second Ave. E.

As part of Jasper County since 1890, the community is invited to learn about the Salvation Army by talking to those who are a part of the organization, along with a little hands-on learning.

“We anticipate having stations set up where individuals can participate in seeing how quickly they can pack a food box, lifting the weight of the items that are distributed typically daily, and some other kind of interactive things for folks, so it’s not just hearing information — it is participating,” Major Mikey Carter said.

Hot dogs, chips, cupcakes and lemonade will be served during the open house. The Salvation Army Thrift Store will also be having special sales from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.

“It is just an opportunity to thank our donors and our volunteers and our participants,” Carter said.

The Salvation Army came to the community of Newton just 25 years after the start of the first program in London, England. Maytag donated a building for the organization in 1928 at 219 N. Second Ave. W. that served both as the Salvation Army Corps church and office.

It continued to do so for many years until, in the 1990s, Jasper County supported a campaign to build the current site. The current site was “dedicated to the glory of God and to the service of The Salvation Army” in 1996.

Along with the well-known thrift store, The Salvation Army has many other services for the community to utilize. A food pantry is open Monday through Friday from 10 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. and is funded by United Way, donations and thrift store profits. In June of this year, 280 households received food from the pantry.

Other services include rent or utility assistance, prescription assistance, bread and produce distribution, loan closet for medical equipment, spiritual support, Christmas food and toys, Thanksgiving baskets, resource provider referrals, short-term emergency lodging, nursing home visitation, youth character building programs along with many more programs and volunteer opportunities.

“This year, we’ve been able to meet the needs that come before us. In general, we have had the funds or the products,” Carter said.

An upcoming service is the annual school supplies distribution in August. The Salvation Army is collecting new supplies, including solid colored folders, wide rule notebooks, pens, pencils and glue sticks.

“All of those basic school supplies that we will put in backpacks and hand out to about 200 students in Jasper County,” Carter said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com