SALVATION ARMY HELPS COMMUNITY

When a little girl at the Salvation Army community center jumped onto Jerrie Miller's lap, the child asked why Miller loved her.

"I love you because you're so beautiful and sweet," Miller responded.

"I wish my mommy loved me," the girl said.

Miller said she could feel her own heart break. The children that she works with at the Salvation Army center just want someone to care for them and love them, she said.

"Basically kids have good hearts," she said. "Many build up shells around them. The more hurt they become, the more layers they add to the shells. That's why I like working with young kids. Their shells still bend."

Feeling unloved is an emotion Miller knows all too well.

That's why she volunteers with the Salvation Army's Sunbeams program for girls ages 6 to 12. "I found a lot of love in that place," she said.

Sunbeams is just one of the many programs at the Salvation Army funded by the Tree of Lights campaign.

The goal for the 1997 Tree of Lights campaign is $175,000. Nearly 40 percent of that figure has been raised so far. The money will help local families and individuals with food, clothing, shelter, utilities, prescription drugs and furniture throughout the year.

"With the money we're raising, we hope to change people's lives," said Capt. Robert Gauthier said. Kettle collections have been steady but the mail appeal is a little low, he said.

Miller is one of the lives changed by the Salvation Army.

Growing up in a poor family in Springfield, Ill., she knows what it is like to depend on the Salvation Army for the bare essentials of life. It provided her family with help when they were hungry or when their utilities had been shut off.

"But so much more than the physical support they offered was the emotional support," she said.

Her parents, both alcoholics, split up when Miller was just a teenager. Her father was gone, her mother at home, but barely able to function. At 14, Miller took on the responsibility of taking care of her four younger siblings.

When she and her brothers and sisters became wards of the state, Miller was about to be shipped off to a foster home. Instead, the captain of the local Salvation Army opened his home to her and she became part of his extended family.

"Meeting immediate needs of food and shelter is important, but we also like to see long-term changes and improvement. That's why we work so much with young people," Gauthier said.

But the Salvation Army doesn't just concentrate its efforts on young people. Once a month the community center hosts a program which feeds nearly 200 people a hot evening meal. At Thanksgiving, the number jumps to more than 600.

SALVATION ARMY

Services provided locally by the Salvation Army in 1996:

FAMILY SERVICES: Assisted families with food, clothing, shelter, utilities, prescription drugs and furniture. Individuals assisted: 13,261.

FRIENDLY VISITATIONS: Vistied residents in nursing homes and hospitals year round. Individuals visited: 8,235.

DISASTER SERVICES: Served emergency personnel and individuals during times of disaster and serious emergencies. Individuals assisted: 1,244.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Assisted in group recreational, education and service programs for children and adults. Sessions: 1,514. Attendance: 54,808.

GROUP WORSHIP: Sessions: 402. Attendance: 12,721.

278 VOLUNTEERS: Volunteer hours: 10,910.

TREE OF LIGHTS: Children assisted: 838. Fund raised: $160,313.

(Graphic by Teresa Connell)