Meet Rick and Jane | Rick and Jane experienced financial difficulties which caused them to lose their home and relocate to Florida. While living in a motel, they had a traumatic experience where they were robbed at gunpoint. The thieves took everything Rick and Jane had. After calling the police, they were taken to The […]
Salvation Army supporter in Jacksonville, Florida brightens lives By: Antoinette Vitale
Richard Stetina has fond memories of going to parks as a child. He still can recall every detail of the ones that are most special to him. When he took a tour of The Salvation Army’s Towers Center of Hope and the Red Shield Lodge shelter for women and families, the playground made an impression on him – but not for the right reasons.
It was old, in disrepair and clearly in need of some love. After he went home, the playground kept coming up in his mind. Finally, he decided that he needed to do something about it.
“I went home, and I guess it was two or three days before I started thinking about it again,” Stetina said. “And I thought, you know, I could so something that would be better. I made my proposal, it was accepted, and here we are today.”
Stetina could have just written a check and felt good about the difference he made. But he isn’t that kind of fellow. He researched the best playground..
By Robin Wendell – Donor Services/Cultivation Manager In October 2017 Steven Carpenter was hired to be a Disaster Caseworker at The Salvation Army’s Operation Lasting Hope Disaster Assistance Center (DAC). He had no idea what to expect, he just knew that he liked helping people. Since then Steven has closed more than 81 disaster […]
“Overcomer” is a production of Affirm Films, the faith division of Sony Pictures World Wide Acquisitions and is produced by Stephen Kendrick and Aaron Burns and is directed by Alex Kendrick.
In 1999, Kendrick became associate pastor of media at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. He took his brother’s sermons and made them into movies.
“The Lord gave Alex story lines, while at the same time, He gave me scriptures about that same topic,” said Stephen. “So, the Lord gives him the ‘Fireproof’ story line while I’m studying marriage, covenant, and love; the Lord gives him the ‘Courageous’ story line, while I’m studying fatherhood at the time. When I was leading the prayer ministry at the church, the Lord gave Alex ‘War Room,’ and so, we’re working together.”
“Flywheel,” their first movie featuring a used car salesman, came about after church goers donated $20,000 and volunteered their time and talent. The Kendrick brothers have since produced six films.
“On ‘Overcomer,’ I’ve been s..
Pathway of Hope helps Texas family find stability and hope for future The family was homeless: Brian was living in a car with the three boys while Hannah was staying elsewhere. There just wasn’t space for all of them to be together.
For three decades, The Salvation Army has hosted the Longino Music Conservatory at Camp Keystone for children across the state of Florida, centrally operating in a building constructed in 1990. In late June 2019, current leadership joined forces with dignitaries from the past in dedicating a new, state-of-the-art facility. “Today, we dedicate this house of […]
Do you love to sit on your patio? It’s easy to light up your outdoor space using thrifted finds! The best news about The Salvation Army’s thrift stores is that the proceeds help local people in need get back on their feet.
Love and acceptance helps Florida man reconnect with hope Just a few months ago, Ray Kinder could not imagine being clean, being out of jail, being hopeful. When you look at Kinder today, you could not, for one minute, imagine him being anything but.
Kinder grew up in a church-going family, but all was not right. His father was a career criminal, coming and going from prison. When his father was not in jail, he was abusing his mother and modeling the alcoholic lifestyle. He eventually ended up with a life sentence for armed robbery. People would speak over Kinder that he would be just like his dad. It had its effects.
Kinder was in juvenile detention 12 times. He got addicted to drugs in middle school and continued to make bad choices for the next two and a half decades. He was in jail, some maximum-security ones, 23 times. Each jail time was just a pause from his crack addiction, and the pause button would be reset when he got out.
“My reality was too hard to take,” he said. “I kne..