HALIFAX, September 1, 2010 – CIBC celebrated its $100,000 commitment to The Salvation Army in Halifax with a donation presentation at the CIBC Barrington and Duke branch. CIBC’s donation will go towards repairs and upgrades beginning this year to The Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope on Gottingen Street. The funds will help restore The Salvation Army’s flagship social services facility including the Booth Centre, home to a 40-bed men’s shelter and a 19-bed rehabilitation program for men with addictions.

“CIBC’s outstanding gift to our Operation: Building Hope capital campaign has made a huge difference,” says Major Larry Martin, Divisional Commander, The Salvation Army. “The critical repairs and renovations taking place this year at our Centre of Hope on Gottingen Street were made possible by leadership level gifts like the one made by CIBC. We couldn’t do this without their support, and we greatly appreciate CIBC’s partnership in making our community a better place for all citizens.”

Over the course of its lengthy history in Halifax, CIBC has made a difference by supporting a wide range of community-based organizations. In the past three years alone, the bank has contributed $650,000 to local organizations including the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Foundation, capital campaigns for local universities and colleges, the YMCA and The Salvation Army, among others.

“At CIBC, we are committed to supporting causes that matter to our clients,
our employees and our communities through corporate donations, sponsorships and the volunteer spirit of our employees,” said Sylvain Vinet, Senior Vice-President of CIBC Retail Markets for Eastern Canada.

“Terry Gardiner, CIBC’s vice-president for the Atlantic region, is a great example of how our employees are involved in the community,” Vinet continued. “Terry has served on The Salvation Army’s capital campaign cabinet and is Chair of the Advisory Board, overseeing the work of transforming the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the community.”

-Ron
Ron Zima ADpPR
Fund Development & Public Relations
The Salvation Army – Maritime Division
ron_zima@can.salvationarmy.org
DIRECT: 902-456-2550

According to a new study at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital, barriers of all kinds are standing in the way of homeless people accessing health services in Canada.
Competing priorities, including finding shelter, food and employment, are cited as factors that can delay seeking medical attention. Also, many people have had a hard time finding a family doctor, but that’s also more difficult for homeless people, particularly for those whose provincial health card was lost or stolen, as reported by a number of people in the study.
And, even if a homeless person does have a family doctor, transportation costs can prevent them from getting there for an appointment, The study also reports that some homeless have had negative experiences with health-care professionals and were made to feel unwelcome and stigmatized. That often results in a person who, although they have needs, is reluctant to seek care because they had such a bad experience the last time.
In addition to our publicly funded health-care system, should we provide special systems of care for those who are particularly disadvantaged?

Friday the 13th of August was blessed with beautiful weather – yet again – for The Annual Transcontinental “Tee Off For The Kids” at Granite Springs golf course near Halifax.

15 teams and 60 participants had a ball, beef buffet, and unbeatable golf while raising over $16,000 in support of sending kids to Scotian Glen Camp. Check out the on-line photo album of the fun HERE.

Terry Mounce and his Transcontinental team have now raised close to $60,000 over four years of organizing this extraordinary tournament – hosted once again by delightful duffer Bill Carr.

Golfers opened their hearts and their wallets on and off the course. Lori Smith, with Transcontinental customer service, had no trouble stuffing The Salvation Army course Kettle with an extra $400..!

Maritime Divisional Commander Major Larry Martin thanked all of the participants and accepted the funds on behalf of The Salvation Army’s Scotian Glen Camp.

Let there be no doubt about the value of these dollars – an investment in the spirit and development of children from across the Maritimes. Have a peek yourself. Click HERE and HERE.

-Ron
Ron Zima ADpPR
Fund Development & Public Relations
The Salvation Army – Maritime Division
ron_zima@can.salvationarmy.org
DIRECT: 902-456-2550

A British Columbia woman recently took to the streets to raise awareness about homelessness. From Friday to Sunday she had nothing but the clothes on her back, a sleeping bag, a backpack, a roll of toilet paper and a video camera with her.
People walked by her that were very kind, so kind it could bring tears to your eyes and others were really mean. Some wouldn’t look at her. Some had nasty comments. Some had an air of she’s dirty, she’s stupid, she should get a life.
Sylvia says the majority of street people suffer from mental illness and drug abuse, and others just don’t have enough money, despite what they get on welfare.
One homeless man told her he can choose either accommodation or food, and he chooses to eat.
Sylvia met people that changed her life. People no different from any of us, they were just down on their luck.

When vandals hit the Salvation Army High River’s only delivery vehicle last month, staff and volunteers decided it was the last straw for the van. The organization couldn’t afford to repair the windshield and correct the significant mechanical problems on the 200,000-plus kilometer cube van.

After the incident was noted in the local paper, businesses banded together to replace a smashed-in windshield and broken transmission for basic or no costs.

You know you have a community when it takes care of its own.

So many of us have attended some kind of summer camp. What kind of camps did you attend when you were younger? Do you have treasured memories? Friends that you keep in touch with? What was your favourite activity?

Now’s your chance to remember the good ole’ days of summer and tell us your best camp story.

In an affluent society like ours, people don’t want to have to seek food assistance. For many Canadian’s experiencing difficulty, it’s humiliating and they only do it when they are absolutely desperate. They park their dignity—their pride—at the door to get food. Read the full story

Recently, a football association official stopped England ace striker Wayne Rooney from talking about his faith at a recent press conference at the 2010 World Cup.

Offering an insight into his Catholic faith, Rooney explained why he wears a prominent cross and rosary beads around his neck when he’s not playing. FIFAs rules actually forbid political or religious messages in the field. Mark Whittle, the FA’s head of media relations quickly interrupted and said: “We don’t do religion.”

In 2002, after the victory of Brazil, commentators were surprised to see T-shirts that said “Jesus Love you” written in English under the players’ very famous tops. Since the 2002 final, FIFA has banned the use of religious slogans on the personal equipment and clothing of players.

The world of international sports is a difficult place to take a stand for one’s faith. Should religious expressions be banned?





While world audiences focus on a black-and-white football (soccer ball) in the FIFA World Cup, The Salvation Army in South Africa is handing out red cards against human trafficking.

In the run up to the World Cup, The Salvation Army kick-started a campaign to help protect people in South Africa, a country that suffers a high level of violent crime, including kidnapping, assault and trafficking.

A major awareness campaign during the soccer event includes anti-trafficking messages on special Salvation Army World Cup items – water bottles, red cards, footballs and vuvuzelas (plastic trumpets that make a huge noise and are a common feature of soccer matches in South Africa). These items advertise a toll-free helpline launched by The Salvation Army’s Southern Africa Territory for victims of trafficking. The hotline is also for community members who are concerned or have a tip-off about trafficking in their neighbourhood.

Alongside the awareness campaign, The Salvation Army is making an effort to prevent trafficking by providing safe venues for children during the World Cup. Throughout the winter school holidays, corps (Salvation Army churches) are hosting free soccer clinics and kids clubs across the country for safe fun and games in celebration of the international sports event. The Army plans to reach 10,000 children through the clinics and clubs and hopes that this will be the catalyst for many of the participants to become regular attendees at ongoing kids programmes.

Throughout the World Cup and into the future The Salvation Army will also be ready to assist victims of trafficking through its existing safe houses for women and children.

Captain Patti Niemand, a member of the territory’s anti-human-trafficking task team, says children are among the most vulnerable to human trafficking. ‘These children [in the kids clubs and soccer clinics] will be taken care of by our highly-trained volunteers who will take the opportunity to educate them on human trafficking and HIV/Aids.’ She adds that the Army’s holiday clubs will also provide feeding schemes to keep children nourished.

Captain Gail White (Territorial Child Sponsorship Officer and Editor, The War Cry) reports that the territory’s corps are heavily involved in the programme. The band from Ezakheni Corps went into a township and distributed pamphlets and other items. They were told that recently two cars came and took away five girls. Their whereabouts is unknown.

‘Sadly,’ says Captain White, ‘human trafficking is very much alive here. The positive side is that communities have been very open to the Army and the distribution of anti-trafficking information.’

By drawing crowds from across the country and the globe, the FIFA World Cup also offers The Salvation Army in South Africa a massive opportunity to share God’s message of love and forgiveness. Mission teams are mingling with street revellers and joining the crowds at fan parks for one-on-one evangelism.

Five international mission teams are in South Africa to assist, four from Australia and one from the United States. Two South African mission teams and various officer-cadets are also focused on teaching at the soccer camps and kids clubs and are taking part in street evangelism. All are intent on seizing the mission opportunity offered by the World Cup.

It’s an exciting time around the globe. But while the world focuses on a ball being struck into a goal, The Salvation Army is not losing sight of its ultimate goal.

Report by Ruth Sylvestre

A recent CBC poll asked the question “Do you believe that the word God should stay in Canadian Culture?” The feedback was overwhelming. CBC had the highest number of responses ever for one of their polls. Read the full story