Looking for an example of the good work being done by the Salvation Army? Spokane, Washington is a good place to start.
Salvation Army officers first marched into Spokane on a summer evening 125 years ago.
Playing brass instruments and drawing a crowd, three women and one man in uniform stopped at a crossroads in present-day downtown to herald the city’s corps. Today, near the southwest corner of Riverside Avenue and Howard Street, a sidewalk plaque marks those officers’ initial stop on Aug. 22, 1891.
Spokane was one of the earliest U.S. cities to have a Salvation Army unit, about 26 years after founder William Booth started the organization in London to reach the destitute. The Salvation Army came to the U.S. in 1880 and by late that decade had spread to major West Coast cities. By 1897, the Spokane corps was providing shelter and food to men. Free Christmas dinners for poor families soon followed, along with other community support.
Another early outreach was the Booth Women’s Home and Hospital for unwed mothers and their babies. Major Steve Ball says their heritage is one of spiritual teaching and encouragement, while also providing practical help including youth-character building and youth activities, a warming center, community dinners, a food bank, child care and summer camps. Ball says “We do it all for the love of God and for the truth of God’s word.”