Cornhole is becoming a tradition at Salvation Army events and tomorrow is no exception. Thanks to a generous donation from Indy Custom Cornhole, we’ll have 2 cornhole sets ready for players tomorrow at Apple Fest on Monument Circle.
So, gather up a group of co-workers and head on over to the Circle any time between 10am – 3pm and put those lunch dollars to work for a good cause – homeless women and kids. Enjoy some freshly grilled sandwiches and a bag of chips from Applebee’s, sodas and water from Ricker’s, apple cobbler from GFS Marketplace and make it a la mode courtesy of Kroger.
We’ll even give you a chance to work off some calories when you throw a game of cornhole before heading back to the office.
We’ve got plenty of food and fun in store. So, spread the word, stop by the ATM and meet us there. We’ll be waiting!
Bite Back against homelessness with some laughs and fun on Thursday, September 30 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm featuring Mel McMahon. It’s a great way to spend an evening relaxing with friends, laughing and supporting a local cause. The show will benefit The Salvation Army’s Homelessness Bites campaign.
ComedySportz is “fast paced improvisational comedy that’s fun for everyone…played like a sport, with two teams battling for laughs and points as they make up scenes and songs on the spot. The audience makes all the suggestions and votes for the winners, and the referee calls the fouls.”
ComedySportz Indianapolis is located at 721 Massachusetts Ave., in Indy’s Mass Ave Arts and Theatre District. Doors will open at 7pm and tickets are $15/adults – $12 students w/ID. Redeem your full Bite Back Box at the event and receive a free ticket to attend another ComedySportz show! For more details visit indycomedysportz.com
Homelessness Bites is The Salvation Army’s campaign to end homelessness in the city of Indianapolis. Each year about 7,500 of our neighbors find themselves homeless in Indianapolis. Even more troubling is the fact that 1,500 of these people are children. The Salvation Army is meeting the needs of our homeless neighbors each year. Find out more at. HomelessnessBites.org
Tuchman Cleaners making deliveries for Coats for Kids 2009.
Tuchman Cleaners has been the official cleaner of Coats for Kids for over 23 years. Get this: they’ve cleaned over 170,000 coats that were donated for children in the central Indiana area! Wow! That’s a lot of love being shown to kids who need it. And it couldn’t have been done without the dedication and hard work from the largest drycleaning company with continuous operations in Indiana.
Every year, Tuchman Cleaners collects and cleans winter coats donated by area residents for distribution to needy children in Indy. This year, from Labor Day until October 25th all central Indiana Tuchman stores will be accepting coats and cleaning them daily. You can find a location near you by visiting Tuchman’s website.
But wait, there’s more! Bring a gently used coat to Apple Fest on October 7, at Monument Circle, drop it in Tuchman’s Coats for Kids box and we’ll reward you with a FREE warm apple cobbler dessert! We’ll be serving lunch too and all the proceeds go to our Homelessness Bites campaign. It’ll be a day filled with ways to make a difference in the lives of women and children in central Indiana. Together, we can bring warmth and hope to those in our community who need it most! A big Thank You to Tuchman Cleaners for Doing the Most Good in a monumental way!
What goes around, comes around. And I mean that in the very best way. Here at The Salvation Army, we’re always trying to inspire you to get in the game and do your best at “Doing the Most Good.” If you’ve not been moved thus far, the following testimony of one woman’s gratitude towards the Army will inspire AND convict. Again, in a good way. You see, this woman didn’t just come to us and find help and hope. She discovered the joy of giving back – even before she was able to do so. She discovered the importance of keeping the cycle going between giving and receiving. Read her story and see how it can apply to your perspective about giving back out of the blessings that you’ve received.
My name is Donna*. My life has been saved! This is a literal statement because the abuse from my husband had progressed to the point where he was going to kill me. And even worse than that he would have done so in front of my three children. He had never abused the children before, but the signs were all present and I knew it was just a matter of time before he started on them too.
People say, “Leave him! Go!” But where do you go? There was nowhere in the area to go, no shelters. How are you supposed to get out safely? And if you have children it becomes even more complicated. You leave on the spur of the moment whenever the opportunity becomes available to you.
Then you find out all of the shelters are full, no rooms available. I left home in the middle of the night with my three children with very few personal belongings. Who was there for us? The Salvation Army was there. They had a room for us. In the middle of the night at 11:00pm they were there. My kids and I were finally safe. They first provided us with food, clothing, personal hygene items. After that they provided us with spiritual encouragement and hope. We stayed at The Salvation Army for several months until I was able to save up money for a safe apartment away from my abusive husband.
Currently I am still not at a place where I can give back, but when I am I will give generously so that The Salvation Army can be there for someone else in need. Thank you and God Bless.
Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client. Donna* is currently enrolled in our Continuing Support Program and she continues contact with her case manager once a week.
Coming up – an opportunity for YOU to give back, or “bite back” as we like to say here!
October 7 at Monument Circle in downtown Indy – 10am – 3pm. Your lunch purchase will benefit programs for homeless and abused women and children, just like Donna*.
Tomorrow is the last day you can help The Salvation Army while you enjoy a little end-of-summer fun with your family. Our friends at Indiana Beach are offering combo tickets to the thrill park and water park at one low price, just $19 – that’s a $17.95 savings per ticket! And the best part is that at $7 from each ticket comes back to Salvation Army programs that help us help our neighbors in need.
Just go here to buy tickets – but don’t just hit the ‘make a purchase’ button, click on the CLICK HERE and enter our promotional code SALVATIONARMY2010. Tickets can be used any time during the 2010 Indiana Beach season. Now THAT’S fun you can feel good about!
We chatted with our friends from Adrian Orchards this week and they’re all fired up to share their amazing apples and cider with everyone at Apple Fest on October 7th. We’re thrilled to invite them back and spread the word about a local business with a heart for giving back to the community.
So, mark your calendar now to join us for Apple Fest on Monument Circle on Thursday, October 7 from 10am-3pm. Applebee’s is donating freshly-grilled sandwiches and chips so all proceeds from lunch will benefit programs for homeless and abused women and children. And bring a few extra bucks for some apples, because they’re seriously good!
Got a business or organization you’re looking to promote – how ’bout a booth at Apple Fest? Just $50 to reach about 1,000 lunchgoers with your message. Call Kristen at 224-1019 to learn more.
Thanks to our friends at Target, we were able to take about 100 of the kids from our shelter and community centers school shopping this week! On Tuesday night, back-to-school eve for IPS, The Salvation Army and Target teamed up to help 12,000 K-12 students across the country gear up for school with the Target School Spree. Each child, selected by The Salvation Army, was awarded an $80 Target GiftCard to purchase back-to-school supplies. The kids were paired with a Salvation Army volunteer and sent out to select school uniform items, backpacks and all the supplies they’ll need to get started.
Nearly 500 Target stores participated in the one-day Target School Spree event in select regions across the country, including four here in the metro Indy area – 38th Street, Glendale, Nora and Southport. Each $80 Target GiftCard awarded as part of the program provided a child with the necessary supplies to go back to school in the fall, ready to learn.
It was clear that the kids also appreciated the gift from Target. When third grader Tiara was asked what she thought about the shopping spree she said, “This is pretty cool. I got everything I needed for school. It’s been a good day.”
Thanks to all the folks at Target nationally and right here in Indy. They provided a fun environment with snacks and even games for the kids waiting their turn to shop. We especially appreciated the enthusiasm of their associates as they helped the kids check out at the end of the shop. Talk about “doing the MOST good”!
We’ve spent the better part of the last week with a big, but rewarding task – distributing 1,000 backpacks and school supplies that Huntington Bank donated to The Salvation Army on behalf of Indianapolis Public School children across the city. The donation is part of a 30,000 backpack donation throughout Huntington’s six-state service area. And we got them all in the hands of kids at our shelter and 6 different IPS locations in time for their first day of school!
Due to Huntington’s generosity, we were able to deliver about 600 more backpacks than in 2009. Those backpacks, provided by Big Lots Inc. at a significantly reduced rate to Huntington Bank were packed along with donated school supplies. And the teachers and principals receiving the donation on behalf of their students couldn’t have been more grateful or excited to see our truck pull up!
Huntington knows how much of a financial strain school supplies can put on a family. According to Huntington’s 2010 Backpack Index, it costs parents about $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and $1,000 for high school students to return to the classrooms. “Providing school supplies to Indiana children in need is a large part of what the Huntington Backpack Index is all about,” said Huntington Bank Central Indiana President Mike Newbold. “We not only want to call attention to the costs to send a child back to school prepared to learn, but also help out families who are having a difficult time making ends meet.”
So, thanks to Huntington Bank and Big Lots Inc. for their partnership!
Who says that helping out has to be hard? We’re just asking you to take a day off and spend it at an amusement park! Our friends at Indiana Beach have been working with us to offer a discount day and now we’re ready to start spreading the word.
Now through August 21, you can buy Indiana Beach combo tickets to the thrill park and water park at one low price, just $19 – that’s a $17.95 savings per ticket! And the best part is that at $7 from each ticket comes back to Salvation Army programs that help us help our neighbors in need.
Just go here to buy tickets – but don’t just hit the ‘make a purchase’ button, click on the CLICK HERE and enter our promotional code SALVATIONARMY2010. Tickets can be used any time during the 2010 Indiana Beach season. Now THAT’S fun you can feel good about!
Today’s Indy Star reports that IPS has seen a 26% increase in the homeless students. The article is pretty sobering – Indiana is tied for 27th in the nation for homeless enrollment – nearly 10,000 students.
Our state has certainly felt the brunt of the economic downturn. And the trend continues in 2010 as unemployment hovers in the 10 percent range. About 43 percent of homeless schoolchildren in IPS are in kindergarten through third grade! These kids have difficulties concentrating, not knowing where they’ll sleep or where dinner will come from. In fact, these students are suspended from school at a rate of about twice the state average!
But thanks to our supporters, The Salvation Army’s Women’s and Children’s Shelter* can offer these kids some stability. Kids who stay in our shelter can count on healthy meals, warm beds and even homework help from our partners at Indy School on Wheels. The shelter isn’t a permanent solution – our counselors work with moms to get help with life skills, school or job placement and all the other resources they will need to break the cycle of joblessness, domestic violence and homelessness.
You can help us continue to provide these services to our littlest neighbors in need through the Homelessness Bites campaign. Find out how to get and fill a Bite Back box, donate online, sign up for our mobile VIP list or mark your calendar now for Apple Fest this October. For 1,500 kids in Indianapolis, homelessness bites. Bite back!
*nearly 1,100 women & children have been cared for in our shelter in 2010. Of the 204 who came to us in June, 76 were kids.
Tags: Apple Fest, homeless kids, homelessness, Homelessness Bites, Indianapolis Public Schools, Indianapolis Star, Indy School on Wheels, Salvation Army, Women's and Children's Shelter
Bite Back!, get involved | admin | 
July 29, 2010 11:10 am | 
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Cornhole is becoming a tradition at Salvation Army events and tomorrow is no exception. Thanks to a generous donation from Indy Custom Cornhole, we’ll have 2 cornhole sets ready for players tomorrow at Apple Fest on Monument Circle.
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