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The Southern California Division recently held a reception honoring Army of Angels donors at the historic Gilmore Adobe at Farmers Market in Los Angeles.
The Army of Angels, made up of 229 individuals, businesses and organizations, is dedicated to transforming the lives of men, women and children in the community and giving them hope and promise. They raised over $600,000 in 2004.
“The Army of Angels advances this mission by providing significant unrestricted resources to support and enhance the Army’s social service programs in step with the increasing and constantly changing needs in Southern California,” said Major Paul R. Seiler, divisional commander.
Donors enjoyed music from the Harbor Light Gospel Choir and heard from three individuals—Frank, Conrad and Arlene—whose lives have been touched and transformed by the Army.
Frank attends the Red Shield Community Center of South Los Angeles, an area plagued by school failure, juvenile crime and a high rate of child and teen deaths from accidents and homicides. “If I wasn’t at the Center, I’d probably be getting into trouble on the streets,” Frank confessed. “At the Center, I get help with my homework, work on the computers and play basketball.”
Now executive director of the Harbor Light Program, in 1983 Conrad Watson struggled with a serious alcohol and drug addiction and was living on the streets of downtown L.A.’s Skid Row. He checked into The Salvation Army Harbor Light and completed the six-month program. For the past 20 years, he has been dedicated to the organization that helped save his life.
Arlene is a member of the Red Shield Youth & Community Center in Pico Union, an area also plagued by gang activity, poverty and violence. For Arlene, the tutoring program at the Red Shield has allowed her to maintain her “A” average in school.