Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a nonprofit organization that provides a range of social services and programs for communities and individuals throughout the world. It collects thrift donations, provides disaster relief services, operates daycare centers and summer camps, provides holiday assistance, services for the aging and maintains an AIDS education program. It addition, Salvation Army offers residential services, medical facilities, shelters for battered women and children, family and career counseling, vocational training, correction services and substance abuse rehabilitation. The organization aids more than 30 million people each year in more than 100 countries. It conducts fundraising campaigns on the local and regional basis via Christmas kettle donations, direct-mail programs, corporate and foundation gifts, planned giving and government contracts. The Salvation Army was established in 1878 by William Booth, an ordained Methodist minister. It is headquartered in Alexandria, Va., and operates regional offices in Des Plaines, Ill.; West Nyack; N.Y.; Atlanta; and Long Beach, Calif.