LIHUE — The highlight of Salvation Army Week on Kauai will be the big storewide sale on Saturday, said Jeanne Dooley, manager of the Salvation Army Thrift Store at the junction of Rice and Kress streets in Lihue. “There will
LIHUE — The highlight of Salvation Army Week on Kauai will be the big storewide sale on Saturday, said Jeanne Dooley, manager of the Salvation Army Thrift Store at the junction of Rice and Kress streets in Lihue.
“There will be other special sales throughout the week,” Dooley said. “Tuesday is senior citizen and military day where seniors and military get a 25 percent discount on purchases. On May 15, we’ll have keiki day where shoppers buy one and get one free. We wrap up the week on May 16 with a big storewide event featuring 50 percent discount.”
Salvation Army leaders, board members and volunteers were on hand recently to celebrate a mayoral proclamation announcing May 11-17 as Salvation Army Week on Kauai, coinciding with the 61st annual National Salvation Army Week.
The observance highlight the importance of Americans giving back to their local communities to support their neighbors during a time when many families and individuals struggle to make ends meet.
“Every year, it is important for The Salvation Army to say ‘thank you’ to the people who make it possible for us to help others who are looking for assistance to escape hard times,” said Major George Hood, the Salvation Army national community relations and development secretary, in a release.
Kauai Salvation Army also will be hosting its annual Advisory Board and Volunteer Mahalo luncheon.
The Salvation Army’s business on Kauai for the last 118 years, and 150 years worldwide, is human business, undertaken with joy for the family of humankind, states the proclamation.
Last year, more than 1,500 families were helped with household items, clothing, food and utilities as well as spiritual enrichment. The Kokua Soup Kitchens, operating at the Lihue and Hanapepe corps, served up 16,222 individuals with meals, including hot meals.
The Salvation Army also cares for thousands of people who suffer drug abuse, alcohol addiction, physical abuse, neglect, emotional problems and personal emergencies.
During times of natural disasters, the Salvation Army is mobilized to offer relief. A recent example on Kauai is when the Salvation Army played a critical role after flooding incidents, providing water, hot meals, blankets, clothing, shelter and other basic assistance to relief workers and victims.
The first National Salvation Army Week was declared by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, to remind Americans they should give freely of themselves.