Feeding the needy is the main challenge for Capt. Rio Ray at the Glendale Salvation Army, but it doesn’t compare to the poverty and drug abuse he witnessed while he was in charge of the facility in Fountain, Colo.
People were living in shacks that would have been condemned. The greatest need during the winter months in the rural area of southern Colorado was heating and electricity.
“You have people freezing to death because they can’t pay their gas or electric bills,” he said. “If they can’t pay it, it’s life or death.”
Several people there also struggle with methamphetamine addiction, he said.
“And it’s a challenge trying to encourage young people to make the right choices to go to college or into a trade school and keep them from getting on drugs and stepping off into darkness,” he said.
After serving there for five years, Ray came to Glendale in July 2008, just when people were starting to feel the effects of a poor economy, he said.
“People who had been our donors in the past were now clients, and now we are faced with the increased need,” he said.
But what he loves about both Salvation Army centers is their outreach to youth, he said.
“Our after-school program is a great example with its helping kids with homework, offering them computer time, arts and crafts. They make their own movies on the computer, and also provide sports and recreation time,” Ray said.
Essentially, they are giving opportunities to kids who wouldn’t have it otherwise, he said.
Ray works constantly to get everything done, including filling the food bank, delivering Meals on Wheels, organizing the Thanksgiving dinner and other programs, said Sheldon Baker, a member of the Salvation Army Board of Directors.
“He is a minister, but he has a passion for Glendale, and the work the Salvation Army is doing in our community, helping those in need whether it’s those who don’t have food on the table, [or] those who are trying to get back on their feet because of one reason or another,” he said.
The Salvation Army gave Ray an opportunity years ago, and he said it’s an honor to be its representative.
It was 1999, and Ray was graduating from college and planned to go back and earn his master’s degree, he said, but he took a year off and worked as a youth director for the Salvation Army.
“I had the amazing opportunity to take kids on field trips and see kids become more than they dreamed they could be,” he said.
He continued there for two years, and then he and his wife, Rachel, went into the school for officers training.
“She is my inspiration, my hope and best friend,” Rio Ray said.
Having his best friend there helped him get through the grim times in Colorado, with some drug-addicted clients succeeding and others failing, Rio Ray said.
“We try to remind ourselves of those who we can save,” he said.
He called the staff at the Glendale Salvation Army “true heroes.”
The Kiwanis Club of Glendale every three months buys beans and rice in bulk, and it is divided up for needy families to take home.
The Noon and A.M. Rotary clubs, and Boy and Girl Scouts have done food drives for them.
“The motto of the Salvation Army is, ‘Do the most good, and do the most good with what we have,’ and we are helping more people than ever before,” he said.
His wish for Glendale this holiday is that everyone has something to give.
“Some give money. Some give time. Some just a prayer,” he said. “I hope all people find hope and peace this season for any circumstance they are having.”
Published: Last Updated Wednesday, December 9, 2009 7:57 PM PST
GLENDALE — Local nonprofits and firehouses have been struggling to gather enough toys from financially strapped donors for hundreds of low-income children this holiday season.
With more families seeking out free services this year due to financial constraints, local community toy drives and nonprofit organizations are feeling the pressure to fulfill their needs, and this Christmas, their wish lists.
Community leaders said demands for goods have increased, but donations haven’t matched that need.
“I am concerned we won’t have enough to fulfill everyone’s request,” said Tanya Gregorian, Glendale Fire’s public education coordinator.
After Thanksgiving, the Glendale Fire Department started collecting new and unwrapped toys for the “Spark of Love” toy campaign, which partners Southland firefighters with the TV station ABC7. Firefighters distribute the toys to nonprofit organizations and schools in their communities.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the requests this year are three-fold what they were last year, Gregorian said.
So far, the Fire Department has collected nearly 300 toys, she said, far less than the 2,500 it needs to collect to fulfill orders from local organizations, including New Horizons Family Center, Glendale Head Start and the Salvation Army Glendale.
“I would hate to leave anyone without any gifts,” she said.
Last year, the Fire Department donated 1,000 toys to New Horizons Family Center, which distributes the toys at their annual toy giveaway. This year’s Toys on the Horizon giveaway is Dec. 19.
Representatives for the nonprofit could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Fire Department is hoping to give the center at least 700 toys, Gregorian said.
But firefighters aren’t the only ones soliciting toy donations this year.
Salvation Army Glendale needs toys for 50 children, who belong to the organization’s Angel Tree program, said Meghan Ravada, the nonprofit’s Safe Place coordinator.
Children who participate in the program are adopted by an individual or family, who buys toys put on a wish list.
The organization also saw an increase in the number of families that asked for help this holiday season, Ravada said.
Last year, 63 families were adopted in the program. That number jumped to 205 this year.
The families receive food, gifts, clothes and other necessities from community members through the organization’s Adopt-A-Family program.
The organization served 63 kids last year in its holiday programs.
This year, they plan to take care of 500 children, Ravada said.
