Red Shield Appeal gives corps a chance to get creative with their community
Red Shield Appeal gives corps a chance to get creative with their community
29 May 2018
The Red Shield Appeal is a way of making valuable connections with Australians who love partnering with us in mission.
As around 70,000 Australians mobilised to volunteer for The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal last weekend, many corps took the opportunity to use the event to build and strengthen community relationships.
Among them were Tarrawanna Corps in Wollongong, Albury Corps on the NSW-Victorian border, and Bellarine Peninsula Corps east of Geelong in Victoria.
For Major Cathryn Williamson at Cowra Corps in south-west NSW, community collection points are about far more than fundraising.
And many other corps around the country took up the The Salvation Army Community Fundraising Department’s initiative to “throw a party” after last weekend’s doorknock, with barbeques, morning and afternoon teas, and community meals being held to “celebrate” the valuable volunteers.
Salvationists in Albury held their family-friendly Red Shield Appeal launch in the CBD shopping district, featuring balloons, craft and other children’s activities, vintage cars, Salvos brass band, timbrels and more.
Area Officer for south-west NSW, Vannessa Garven, said, “We prayed for the launch and the community, played songs, offered activities for the kids and shared a story of a young man who was deep in ice addiction, who was without hope and then went through our Canberra Recovery Services and is now free from addiction.
“Jesus went out into the community with a message of hope, and it was a joy for us to do so.”
Further south on the Bellarine Peninsula, a faith-based missional community has been birthed through the Red Shield Appeal. Planting Officer, Captain Peter Hobbs, said recruiting a new Red Shield Appeal chairman earlier this year led to a lot of new ideas.
“He came up with a pilot program of a Red Shield Appeal Youth Ambassador [from a local Christian college] ... then intentionally invited these amazing staff from the Christian College to the Red Shield Appeal launch, which he helped organise at the Geelong Cats AFL stadium, including getting Cats players to attend and speak.
An RSA partnership on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula with Christian College Bellarine Campus students is having longer term missional impact.
“We made a video promoting the Youth Ambassador program. The staff at the Christian College were so inspired that they went above and beyond this year – the Christian College Bellarine got 95 doorknockers to partner with us in the mission and raise $5200 in two hours, proving that doorknocking is still really effective.”
The Bellarine Peninsula Salvos are now working on ways to engage those inspired teachers and students with the greater mission of The Salvation Army in the area by raising up more youth ambassadors from every grade.
“It’s simply growing faith wherever life happens,” said Captain Hobbs. “The whole Red Shield Appeal is being transformed, but most importantly, these amazing people are partnering with The Salvation Army and the mission of God is being achieved. The Red Shield Appeal Committee is a brand new missional community, driving the mission deeper into community.”
At Tarrawanna, a launch breakfast on the weekend before doorknock gave corps folk the chance to spoil and celebrate volunteers before the busyness of the doorknock weekend.
“Sixty-six of us enjoyed a great brunch of pork sliders and coleslaw, veggie fritters and fresh cooked waffles, berries and yoghurt, all cooked by our master chef Bob [Seymour],” the corps posted on its Facebook page. “Everyone listened intently as Marilyn [Dunn] from The Wollongong Salvation Army First Floor Program, and Nick from William Booth House reminded us why we need to be involved in collecting for the Red Shield Appeal.”
Tarrawanna Salvation Army celebrated and thanked volunteers in the lead-up to its Red Shield Appeal.
Nearly $4.5 million was raised over the doorknock weekend nationally, but National secretary for Communications, Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Venables, said he’s confident that figure will rise.
“Our volunteers are still out collecting and our teams are still processing donations. We will continue to update our tally at salvos.org.au as we climb to our national Doorknock target of $7.5 million.”
NSW/ACT Divisional Commander, Lieut-Colonel Miriam Gluyas, says the weeks and months after Red Shield Appeal doorknock should be the most exciting time for Salvationists.
“Red Shield Appeal is the month of the year where we have an absolute presence amongst Aussies in our communities – so how do we now not retreat back to our halls but make sure our presence continues in missional ways?”
For Major Cathryn Williamson at Cowra Corps in south-west NSW, community collection points are about far more than fundraising. “I got to have lots and lots of great conversations throughout the Red Shield Appeal. I had the opportunity to invite people to our groups like Home League and Kids in the Kitchen.”
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