It’s no secret having a safe and stable place to live is at the very foundation of overall health and well-being. That’s why, in The Salvation Army, there’s no such thing as no place to go. We uniquely understand the statistics on those experiencing homelessness—which by the latest counts means tonight in America more than 421,000 people are without a place to call home. We also know that number doesn’t provide a full picture of need. With one in 10 people living in poverty today, housing...

The Salvation Army has a long history of serving those who have served our country. It all began with donuts and coffee for soldiers during World War I, and it only grew from there. Today, The Salvation Army offers a range of veterans services, providing comfort, support, counseling and a home to thousands of veterans in need each year. Did you know veterans make up 8 percent of the population of those experiencing homelessness in the U.S.? In many cases, housing insecurity, post-traumatic...

Hope is what propels us through the uncertainty and chaos of our slumps and our challenges.  But in our broken, imperfect world, a lot of people are finding their peace is constantly under threat, and because of that, it’s harder to experience genuine hope for the future. Irwyn Ince is a pastor, author and coordinator of Mission to North America for the Presbyterian Church in America. In his new book, “Hope Ain't a Hustle: Persevering by Faith in a Wearying World,” he explores the true...

Have you noticed our culture tends to treat cynicism as though it’s the price of being right? But cynicism is a contagion infecting our society—creeping into every corner of our lives, corroding our connections and obscuring our hope for a brighter tomorrow. That's according to Stanford Psychologist and Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Jamil Zaki. Dr. Zaki is the author of a new book, “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness.”  He says cynicism is an...

Today we're focusing on a topic that hits close to home for many families across the country: food insecurity. With rising prices, the struggle to put food on the table has become a reality for more and more people in recent years. And many people are turning to charitable food resources to make ends meet. That's where organizations like The Salvation Army come in. In the western U.S. alone, The Salvation Army provided over 9 million meals last year. And in some areas, is partnering with...

I’m always paying attention to what’s going on in the lives of our listeners—you—and I guess I’ve spotted this idea because I am you. A lot of people with hope for a better world let it end there. Why is that? You’re here so I know you’re one of the hopefuls, someone who knows where there’s movement there’s hope—and you’re willing to do something. You want to see your community, your family, your kids be resilient and good. To you, it’s not a pipe dream to want a world that works better...

Last week, we celebrated a major milestone—our 200th episode! We replayed the very first episode, an interview with our good friends, now retired Commissioners Dave and Sharron Hudson. And yes, I interjected my thoughts about what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in the years since. We’ve shared so many powerful stories and meaningful conversations with you, and today, we’re looking back at some of your favorite episodes and reliving some of the most impactful lessons we've learned...

Welcome to the 200th episode of The Do Gooders Podcast. It feels wild to say that. Over some five years, I have interviewed hundreds of authors, academics, experts, people doing the work and people whose lives have been transformed by it.   They’ve brought so many good ideas and new ways to think about this goal of ours to keep on doing good.   I wanted this episode, number 200, to be a special one. To look around and reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going. So today, I want to...

The Do Gooders Podcast is back with a fresh batch of inspirational stories just for you. Tune in on September 30. ABOUT THE SHOW If you care about making an impact for good then the Do Gooders Podcast from The Salvation Army’s Caring Magazine is the show for you. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Christin Thieme, listen in for real-life inspiration, expert insight, evidence of transformation happening in communities across the U.S. through The Salvation Army, and ideas from change-makers so you can...

We’re back with our final highlight episode from the 2024 Testify Congress. Yes, last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people. And The Salvation Army’s international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, traveled from London to be part of it all. You've heard the General speak...

We’re back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And the sessions featured, you guessed it, testimonies from programs and ministries of The Salvation Army across the West.  Today, we’re sharing two: First, you'll hear from Monte Mansfield, a one-time...

We’re back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people. And The Salvation Army’s international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, traveled from London to be part of it all. You may remember the General from episode 178,...

We’re back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And the sessions featured, you guessed it, testimonies from programs and ministries of The Salvation Army across the West.  Today, we’re sharing two: First, you'll hear from Envoy Kevin Nagasaki. If...

We’re back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And The Salvation Army’s international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, traveled from London to be part of it all. You heard from the General a couple episodes...

We’re back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. This month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And the sessions featured, you guessed it, testimonies from programs and ministries of The Salvation Army across the West.  Today, we’re sharing two: First, you’ll hear from Lt. Do-Hyun Kim, who was...

We’re back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. This month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And The Salvation Army’s international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, traveled from London to be part of it all. Today, we’re sharing his message from the first...

This past weekend, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people—the 2024 Testify Congress. The annual celebration includes the commencement, commissioning, ordination and appointment of cadets as they’ve completed two years of training at the College for Officer Training at Crestmont to become Salvation Army officers. But...

No one expects to evacuate from their home in the middle of the night, wading through chest-deep water to find a way out of an emergency. We just don't think it'll happen to us. But for Shamrock Steele and her husband, Dave Lanphear, it did. Shamrock and Dave survived the Skagit floods in November 2021. They made it out in the middle of the night, in their pajamas, with their young grandkids and pets. Their completely remodeled house that they were just about to move into, however, did...

We’ve said it before: The Salvation Army’s disaster relief operation never sleeps. Perhaps that could not be more true than in the case of Envoy Kevin Nagasaki who is in-charge of the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps in Maui, Hawaii. You’ll remember last August, the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps burned along with historic Lahaina town in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. For Envoy Nagasaki, this disaster was personal: The corps complex contained spaces for worship, social services and a...

Building resilience is a lengthy process, but it's an investment that pays off. By focusing on preparedness, mitigation and adaptation, more communities can ensure that they too build and sustain resilience after a natural disaster. Todd De Voe is a true authority on all things resilience and emergency management. Todd is the Editor in Chief of The Emergency Management Network newsletter, a published author in the reference book "Campus Crisis Management," and has penned numerous...

Every disaster scenario creates its own unique circumstances and special needs. In each case, The Salvation Army is there with other agencies to offer relief in the form of food services, emergency communications, donations management, social services and more. Perhaps most uniquely, The Salvation Army deploys specially trained individuals to offer emotional and spiritual care to rescue workers and disaster survivors alike. That ministry of presence is all we do and say—a collective action...

A good start to disaster preparedness is knowing the risks you should be prepared for based on where you live. That’s a big part of Jonathan Sury’s work. Jonathan is the Project Director for Communications and Field Operations at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.   Jonathan leads a project called the Natural Hazards Index, which maps local...

Where would you go if you could live anywhere you wanted? For a lot of Americans, the answer is Phoenix. In fact, Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, has held the title of "fastest growing county in the U.S. by numeric growth" for much of the past decade. But, Maricopa isn’t just one of the hottest places in terms of popularity. It’s also the literal hottest metropolitan area in the U.S. Summertime, in particular, is dangerously hot in Maricopa County,...

The U.S. experienced a record number of billion-dollar weather disasters in 2023, and it’s not a one-year fluke but the new trend. In the face of this changing disaster landscape, there's one organization consistently on the frontlines, bringing aid and hope to those in need: The Salvation Army, whose disaster relief operation never sleeps. Last year alone, The Salvation Army served nearly 600,000 people across a staggering 4,300 disaster events. Thanks to the generosity of donors and...