February 16, 2007 - Salvation Army Relocating
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Raleigh-based command of The Salvation Army has plans to expand to a new site, five minutes from its downtown location, and more than three times the size of its current facilities.
The new site at 1821 Capital Blvd., provides The Salvation Army with 41,328 square feet of program space on 4.16 acres. The Army’s present location is a fraction of that at just over 13,000 square feet of program space and less than one acre of land.
Robert Woronofff, community advisory board chairman, said The Army’s primary goal is to increase the capacity of the Women and Children’s housing program. The current facility has space for only 34 individuals and maintains a waiting list that exceeds 120 individuals or about 42 families.
Additionally, the new site will provide an important and missing part of the puzzle for children and parents living at The Salvation Army – safe playground and recreational space. Preliminary plans also call for classroom space for adults and children, computer lab and learning center, medical clinic and healthy living center, space for individual and family counseling, children’s day care, services for assisting victims of human trafficking, and collaboration space to host partner agencies and their services for residents.
“This is The Salvation Army’s opportunity to live up to our national promise of Doing The Most Good” Woronoff said. “The decision to relocate was not difficult for us. The needs of the community being brought to The Salvation Army grow more and more every year,” says Woronoff, “and we desperately need more space to meet them. Since we moved into our present facilities in 1977, the population of Wake County has more than doubled. We have reached the point where we just need more space to meet the needs of those seeking assistance.”
The Salvation Army is in the planning stages of what is expected to be a $6 – 8 million capital campaign to renovate the property, construct additional facility space on the site, and to provide an endowment to secure its ability to meet the needs of the community. Though a capital campaign is still in the planning stages, The Salvation Army has received a $1 million matching pledge from the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. The pledge is structured to provide the Army with $250,000 for each $1 million raised by a capital campaign, up to the pledge maximum of $1 million.
The Salvation Army plans to work closely with the City of Raleigh as it determines how to handle the sale of its downtown property on South Person Street adjacent to Moore’s Square Park, City Market and Exploris Museum. As a longtime member of the downtown district, The Salvation Army is committed to seeing that future plans for the property provide the best benefit to the City, downtown businesses, and area residents. Preliminary time lines have The Salvation Army moving to the new site in 2009.
Wake County was the Army’s first location in the Carolinas, opening its doors in 1887. It currently has a staff of 50, thousands of regular and seasonal volunteers and an annual budget of just over $3 million. In its 2005/2006 operating year, The Salvation Army in Wake County served and ministered to 91,000 individuals. In addition, The Salvation Army operates a Community Center on Wake Forest Road with programs for area youths and seniors and two Family Stores in Raleigh.
Email your comments or questions about this story.
Read the full story at Philanthropy Journals website.
About The Salvation Army
William Booth began The Salvation Army in 1865, when he left the Methodist ministry to begin a mission in the poverty-stricken slums of London. Booth's mission chose to take the message of hope and salvation to destitute people who needed it the most. Many of Booth's first converts to Christianity were rejected by traditional churches due to their pasts, but Booth still continued to support them spiritually and to challenge them to save others just as they had saved themselves. Today The Salvation Army serves through a network of more than 9,000 US based units. One of the largest charitable and social service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been helping those in need since 1865. The Salvation Army provides food for the hungry, companionship to the elderly and ill, clothing and safe housing to the homeless, opportunities for underprivileged children, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, and many more services to assist those in need. Locally, The Salvation Army has been serving the people of Wake County since 1887 and maintains a program and services investment of 91 cents for every dollar received from the community. Its Wake County headquarters is located at 215 South Person Street, Raleigh, NC 27601. Its Mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
