Salvation Army optimistic about 2016
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- Published on Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Photo by Eoin Devereux. Amanda Naughton-Gale of the Salvation Army spoke to the Neepawa Rotary Club on Friday, Jan. 22.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Neepawa鈥檚 Salvation Army is hopeful that 2016 will be the year they鈥檙e finally able to expand. On Friday, Jan. 22, Manager Amanda Naughton-Gale spoke to the members of the Neepawa Rotary Club, during the group鈥檚 weekly luncheon and meeting. She provided an update on the operation of the thrift store and the use of the hamper program.
Naughton-Gale noted that 45 households received aid from the food bank program in 2015, down from 54 households the previous year. She said that while it was great to see the need for hampers on the decline, they don鈥檛 expect it to be an ongoing trend.
鈥淸In 2016] I think we鈥檙e going to see an increase in need. Already, we鈥檙e up a little bit in comparison to last year鈥檚 requests for food hampers,鈥� commented Naughton-Gale. 鈥淭hat might have to do with some of the economic issues that are going on globally right now. I don鈥檛 think the need will ever stop . I think it鈥檒l grow and that鈥檚 why we need ongoing support.鈥�
Naughton-Gale did add however, that the community has always been very generous in supporting the food bank, though most of that support comes later in the calendar year and that the early portion of the year is always the slowest time for donations.
As for the operation of the thrift store, 2015 was one of its most successful years, with the store surpassing the $100,000 mark in sales.
Naughton-Gale said that in a way, they鈥檙e a victim of their own success, as they have more donation than space. She remains hopeful that a proposed move to a larger location is still in the cards.
鈥淏est case scenario for 2016, I鈥檇 hope to see us moved into a new location. We have outgrown our existing location. We鈥檝e made our current location work as best we can, but a larger space would allow us to look at what else we could do for the community. What other sources or programs could be created if there is more room?鈥� said Naughton-Gale. 鈥淲e can only do what we can do, with the resources that we have. I see so much opportunity for us to do bigger and better things for our clients and for our community.鈥�
