Recently, I traveled up to The Salvation Army’s Northern New England Division to visit with local Corps, discuss programs, and address any feedback they had. One visit was to Manchester, NH, where Captain Rader is the Corps Officer.
For reference, this Salvation Army is located in an area of Manchester with the highest crime rate and highest level of poverty. Most of the children who participate in their programs attend Beech Street Elementary — whose entire student body lives below the poverty line. Captain Rader explained that many of the children have parents who are in jail or addicted to drugs, or else their entire family has just arrived as refugees from a faraway country, and they don’t speak English.
Next was a tour of the “Kids Café” program by Captain Rader and the program director, Bill Champagne. This program features art classes, computer classes, physical fitness, and even a game room! The program is available Monday–Thursday for kids ages 6–12, and has been taking place for the past 20 years.
The program gives neighborhood kids not only a place to have fun, but also (and more importantly) a safe place to hang out and avoid the ills that affect their community.
Many of the volunteers were adults who had “graduated” from the program, and now wanted to give back. They understand better than anyone how important the program can be for neighborhood children.
For example, Stephen Warren, the Corps Officer in Concord, attended this program as a child. He said that, growing up, if he looked out one window of his house, he saw the jail … and out the other window, he saw the cemetery. According to him, having this program available saved his life and inspired him to become a Corps Officer.
Before long, my Salvation Army Field Notes had me reflecting on everything I’d seen.
To most people, this is a robust program that doesn’t seem that much out of the ordinary. For me, however, it made a strong impression — as I’m proud to say I also attended Beech Street Elementary School, albeit over 35 years ago.
And while the school was a mixed community back then (middle class, blue collar, and low-income … including children from subsidized housing), the day we participated at Kids Café, I saw myself in these children. And while we all didn’t share the same struggles, I know them — they were my neighbors; they were my best friends.
Many of these kids may have gone down the wrong road, but because of this program, they have a greater chance of leaving their past behind and moving on to do great things. And it makes me proud to be from that neighborhood!
Stacey Schwab is an Account Director with TrueSense Marketing, proudly serving several Divisions of The Salvation Army.