RUTLAND, VERMONT - Since January of 2013, The Salvation Army has been renovating and retrofitting building 12A at 1 Scale Avenue for a permanent home to provide its programs and services to the community.  During remodeling The Salvation Army has continued to help families with general assistance such as food from the emergency food pantry and clothing.

The Salvation Army, Rutland Corps Commanding Officer Major Charles Balcom states: "For over a year and a half we were at a temporary location because our facility on Wales Street was severally damaged due to flooding during Hurricane Irene in 2011."

Majors Charles and Rose Balcom

The Salvation Army plans to be in full operation at their new location by August.  They will offer afterschool programs to assist children with homework helps, a meal and character building programs ie. Arts and Music program which includes guitar, singing and dance lessons.

Vacation Bible School will be held on August 26-30^th from 6:00p.m.-8:30p.m. (for children from ages 7 - 12) which includes games, crafts, snacks and bible lessons.   A monthly Dinner and Movie Night for families will begin in July.  Sunday Worship begins with Sunday School at 10 a.m. and Morning Worship at 11:00 a.m.

In addition, Majors Charles & Rose Balcom oversee all operations of The Salvation Army's Family Thrift store located at 1 Field Avenue in Rutland.  The store provides quality clothing, furniture and other goods to the community at bargain prices.  All purchases at the store directly provide funds to support The Salvation Army programs and services for children, adults and seniors in the Rutland area.

For many Rutland area children, being out of school for the summer can also mean going hungry.  The Salvation Army is in the process of implementing a summer feeding program to help address this issue.  Meals will be prepared and provided to families in the local area from The Army's Emergency Disaster Canteen.  The feeding program will kick off on July 26th.

For more information and interviews please contact Major Charles Balcom (802) 775-5150.

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About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar The Salvation Army spends is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide.