It started out as an employment opportunity, but Christina Plantinga’s time at The Salvation Army changed her forever.

It’s not every summer job that offers a life-changing experience, but that’s what Christina
Plantinga found in Campbell River, B.C., last summer, working with the community’s homeless and underprivileged.

Christina, 24, freely admits that she had no idea what she was getting into when she applied for a summer job as a community ministries assistant with The Salvation Army. The third-year student in kinesiology at Trinity Western University had hoped to return to
the fish processing plant job she had the previous summer. That job didn’t come through, however, and she’d resigned herself to doing volunteer work when her mother found the
Salvation Army opportunity in the newspaper. Christina applied and got the job.

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?
When Christina wasn’t serving as a front-line worker at the shelter, the downtown Lighthouse Centre or the sandwich van, she worked at The Salvation Army’s thrift stores.

“I was all over the place,” she laughs. “The Lighthouse soup kitchen was fantastic. I was in the kitchen most of the time, doing everything from chopping vegetables to serving coffee to being in the dish pit.”

She also had the opportunity to do some “table ministry,” going out into the dining room and getting to know people. At the shelter, she helped serve dinner, then did a sandwich van route.

Christina got to know a community of individuals that many either don’t know or choose not to.

“I was raised in a Christian home, not in a lifestyle that involved drugs or alcohol. My first week at the Lighthouse, the dining-room manager talked about how there were drug deals happening outside because everyone knows the doors open at 11:30 in the morning, so they meet beforehand.

“I remember sitting at a table and thinking, My goodness, what have I gotten
myself into?”

A Blessing to Others
If that was a marker for where she started the summer, it shows how much the experience changed Christina in only a couple of months.

“To have a heart to serve, to love people where they are at, is something I struggled with,” she says. “Jesus would love them as they are. It was a challenge for me to say, ‘No matter where you are now, no matter what your lifestyle is, I’m going to love you.’ ”

She often wept over the brokenness and the hurt that these people experienced.

“I’m no different than they are, except I was saved by grace, but I’m certain if Jesus was walking on earth, these would be the people He would hang out with. He would be downtown at the Lighthouse. He would be downtown with the sandwich van.”

So what advice does Christina give
to anyone interested in volunteering?

“Go out and serve,” she says after a moment’s thought. “Those people need us so much. Try to understand them, try to understand that they’re no different than you and me. They’ve made some bad choices, but I could be one of them if it wasn’t for God’s grace.
They’ll always be there, that’s the reality, but that doesn’t mean we can abandon them. They need us.”

Besides, she says, you never know the lessons you might learn along the way.

“I think the biggest thing I learned was an acceptance of other people’s humanity, acceptance for who we are,” she states. “There’s a real sense of authenticity. There are no barriers, nothing to hide, they’re all in the same boat.

“I would say I’ve been more blessed, in working with these people, than I’ve been a blessing to them.

“I’ll never be able to forget that summer,” she concludes. “It changed me. Those people got into my heart.”

by Dan MacLennan
Photo: Dan MacLennan
Reprinted with permission by Campbell River, B.C., Courier-Islander

First-time campers don’t know a lot about life in the outdoors, including how to paddle a kayak, pitch a tent or build a campfire. Those are the survival skills they learn while in the wilderness.

But it’s rare that a camper doesn’t know how to ride a bike.

That’s a skill parents are supposed to teach their kids as a rite of passage.

So when one of the teens at the Salvation Army’s Newport Adventure Camp dug in his heels refusing to ride the woodland bike trails, Gina Haggett sensed there was more than bad attitude at play. Turns out, he’d never had a bike and no one had ever taught him to ride, said the camp’s new director. The youth was too embarrassed to admit it. Once he did, his counsellors went to work and within hours the 14-year-old was riding on his own. Now that was one happy camper.

Helping young people find their way is the goal at Newport Adventure Camp and other Salvation Army camps, including the Blaze program for younger kids at Jackson’s Point. The Salvation Army has been offering summer escapes for children since 1898 when the first camp was established in England. In those early days, the success of the camp was based on the number of pounds children gained while there, said Haggett of poor children who were deprived of food.

These days, children are respected for who they are and their voices are heard. That may not always be the case at home. “They’re important and we show them,” said Haggett, adding that at camp, even the smallest successes are celebrated.

Connections to their faith are also strengthened. “At camp, there’s a strong Biblical foundation. Each child receives a Bible. We feed body and soul.”

The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund ensures those who need help to attend camp get it. “The funds we get transforms lives,” said Haggett, adding the camp gives economically disadvantaged children the opportunity to just be kids by providing a good experience and creating great memories.

There’s only one rule – “Respect. Everything else, including the Bible, fun, fellowship and friendship, rolls into it.”

Amanda has been attending salvation Army camps since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. She comes back for the people and friendships she has made. This year, she’s signed up for the camp’s new dance program where she’s been perfecting her hip hop moves. “If I wasn’t at camp I’d just be hanging around with friends doing nothing,” said the 13-year-old.

Ditto for Matthew who’s into archery and outdoor living. “I’m learning how to survive on the basics.”

Amanda admitted she missed her mom at first. “But the closer to the end of the camp, the harder it is to leave,” she said.

By Leslie Ferenc
Reproduced with permission – Torstar Syndication Services

At age four Conrad Wilson’s mom, an alcoholic and drug addict, gave him to his aunt in exchange for some new furniture. Read the full story

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.

Kids are so excited, they don’t look back to say goodbye. Equipped with backpacks and sleeping bags they head off to summer camp where they come alive. Read the full story

The countdown has begun. Summer break for Canada’s students is just around the corner. Thanks to your generous donations Salvation Army camping ministries are gearing up to provide close to 5,000 kids nationwide a time of fun Read the full story

The Salvation Army’s National Recycling Operations “Kids to Camp” program is sending 267 kids to camp this year. On June 19, across Canada, customers of Salvation Army thrift stores were invited to donate funds that would help pay camp fees for less privileged campers. More than $58,000 was raised. Last year 4,800 children went to Army camps.

About National Recycling Operations
The Salvation Army National Recycling Operations exists to generate funds to support Salvation Army programs by efficiently and ethically recycling and selling donated clothing and other goods. Donated items are either dropped off at a collection point or picked up where pick-up service is available. Items are sorted and processed and sold in the Thrift Store and/or provided to needy persons through a volunteer system provided by the Family Services Department of the Salvation Army.

In late 2009 I volunteered on The Salvation Army’s street youth van that feeds and befriends Toronto’s homeless youth. Seven evenings a week, the “Sally Van” gives a glimpse of hope to 16 to 25-year-olds who are desperate for food, compassion and understanding. Read the full story

Instead of birthday gifts, 7-year-old Claire-Marie Harrower asked her nine friends to bring money to her birthday party so she could give it to The Salvation Army’s ongoing relief efforts in Haiti.

A total of $214.21 was gathered. Claire-Marie and her mom, Lisa, made a special trip to The Salvation Army’s head office in Toronto to hand in the donation.

“We gave to The Salvation Army because we know that most of it goes directly to The Salvation Army’s extensive immediate and long-term relief efforts in Haiti,” says Lisa. “The Salvation Army does great work and we’re happy to be able to play a part in it.”

Claire-Marie is pictured above with The Salvation Army Territorial Leaders, Commissioner William and Marilyn Francis.