Published: Last Updated Wednesday, May 13, 2009 10:07 PM PDT

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Salvation Army Glendale, which has had to grapple with a precipitous increase in demand for services over the past two years, got some support of its own Wednesday after a group of community leaders donated thousands of food items and about $7,000.

Since 2007, Salvation Army Glendale has seen a 200% increase in the number of people seeking help, Capt. Rio Ray said. At the same time, donations to the center have slumped with the battered economy, creating a crunch for resources, he added. So Leadership Glendale’s donation of about $7,000 and about 5,000 non-perishable food items will go a long way, he said.

“It’s amazing because we don’t have big fundraisers like this where we get big amounts of money,” he said.

Participants in Leadership Glendale — an eight-month Glendale Chamber of Commerce program focusing on community development — organized the effort to collect and offer the donations to the Salvation Army in response to its current challenges.

A group of 21 businesspeople, city employees and nonprofit workers participated in this year’s Leadership Glendale course, which takes up a different cause each year, said Judee Kendall, the chamber’s executive director.

The group previously raised $23,000 to help the Glendale Police Department establish a K-9 unit, and collected more than $17,000 to fund an educational vehicle for the Glendale Fire Department, Kendall said.

Wednesday’s donation was especially timely, she said.

“Because of the economy, there’s more of a need for that food bank now,” she said of the Salvation Army.

About 70% of the nonprofit’s annual $1.1-million budget comes from private donors. In turn, that money supports more than 1,000 monthly food pantry visitors, 900 monthly Meals on Wheels deliveries, housing for 19 families in need, and a weekday after-school tutoring program for up to 45 students, Ray said.

While cash donations have sagged during the recession, Leadership Glendale’s $7,000 contribution will play a major role in improving “The Zone” after-school program, he said.

Ray planned to use the money to cover the after-school program’s supplies and field trips, and to upgrade some of the 20 laptops used during tutoring, he said.

Leadership Glendale participants said they decided to direct their efforts to support the Salvation Army because it was the most direct approach to helping those who have been hit hardest by the economy, particularly students who lose the time and attention of parents struggling to make ends meet.

Food donations were a key part of that, because many families can’t afford to make regular food purchases, said Annette Vartanian Jackson, one of the project organizers.

“We can’t be a strong community if there’s families living in Glendale where they don’t know where their next meal is going to come from,” she said.

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Capts. Rio and Rachel Ray have only been leading the Salvation Army Glendale Corps for less than a year, but have already proven that they will continue to uphold the Glendale Corps’ reputation for actively fulfilling the needs of the community.

“What I really appreciate about Rio and Rachel is their humility and serving heart,” said Rick White, the Glendale Corps’ director of social services and volunteer coordinator. “Even though they haven’t been here a year yet, they love the community.”

Before coming to Glendale, the Rays were captains of the Salvation Army in Fountain Valley, Colo., for five years. They enjoyed their time in Colorado, rewarded by their positive impact on individuals in the community.

Rachel remembers helping Sandra, 14, fight drug addiction and make better choices after she came to the Salvation Army in Fountain Valley. Rachel still keeps in touch with Sandra, who has been drug-free for nine months.

“There couldn’t be a more rewarding job,” Rachel said.

The Rays were faced with a challenge upon their arrival in Glendale to fill the shoes of the previous Glendale Corps’ captains, Jim and Barbara Sloan, and continue to raise more money and supplies in tough economic times.

However, Richard Dell, a Salvation Army board member, believes the Rays have made an amazing transition.

“The challenges were great, and are great, and they stepped right up,” Dell said.

Dell was particularly impressed by the Kettle Kick-Off held last November, during which community leaders collected donations for the Salvation Army in a red kettle for a week. The Rays brought the Kettle Kick-Off to the board’s attention, having held Kettle Kick-Offs in Colorado.

Dell believes that one of the reasons the Kettle Kick-Off was a success was because of the Rays’ ability to utilize the resources of Glendale’s nonprofits. Already, the Rays have followed the example of the Sloans, who were members of Glendale’s service clubs. Rio is now a member of the Kiwanis Club of Glendale and Rachel has joined the Rotary Club of Glendale.

“One of the many things they bring to the table is being able to reach out to all nonprofits and work with them collectively,” Dell said.

The Rays recognize that they cannot run the Salvation Army on their own.

“We have a great advisory board accepting us in and helping us with advice,” Rio said.

“If we had to do this on our own, the strength would be impossible,” Rachel said. “Thankfully, God helps us.”

Published: Last Updated Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:12 PM PDT

Published: Last Updated Friday, March 20, 2009 10:38 PM PDT

A hungry lunch crowd that included city employees and residents purchased meals Friday at a Burger King restaurant, which will be donating 10% of its sales to the Glendale Safe Place in the hopes of helping the organization stay afloat during the recession.

The fundraiser was held at three Burger King restaurants — on Central Avenue, Colorado Street and Glenoaks Boulevard — for the Salvation Army’s nonprofit organization, which was looking for additional funding to support the program that is dedicated to helping troubled teens who need advice or a place a stay, said Meghan Bowra, the Safe Place coordinator.

“We really need the funds to be able to keep doing the outreach to the kids,” she said. “Any little bit that helps.”

Seven teens went to Safe Place facilities, including 40 businesses, nonprofits, the three fast food restaurants, all fire stations and the Glendale Police Department, in 2007, Bowra said.

But the number of teens that needed help in 2008 increased to 20, she said.

With more teens seeking advice or counseling, the program needs more funding to maintain its services and be able to supply the teens with the help they need, Bowra said.

But while the Salvation Army sponsors the program, it is finding it increasingly difficult to get funding for additional supplies, such as informational videos, that the program needs due to the economic downturn, she said.

Getting funding for programs is challenging during a shaky economy, but the organization will maintain the program as one of its top priorities because the community needs it, Salvation Army Capt. Rio Ray said.

The program, which the Salvation Army began sponsoring in 2006, is in great need of volunteers to help counsel teens or be available to them when they need help, Ray said.

The program started in 2002 in the city and was created to help teens who are struggling with abuse, being threatened or bullied, suicidal, addicted to drugs or alcohol or depressed or who ran away from home.

Teens who need help can go to any Glendale Beeline bus, business, city department or organization with a yellow Safe Place sign displayed on their buildings, where employees are trained in crisis intervention in order to aid them.

A counselor is on-call and available to help teens at any hour. If teens need a place to stay, they are taken to a shelter.

Glendale Safe Place is the only program of its kind in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Chris Schmutzer, the fast food restaurants’ managing director, grew up in Glendale and lives in La Crescenta, which he said needs a Safe Place program.

Schmutzer is planning to make the Burger King restaurant on Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta a Safe Place zone, he said.

“It’s just good for the community,” Schmutzer said.

The restaurants needed to show their support for the program, and donating 10% of their sales to it was a way to help, he said.

“It’s a small gesture, but in today’s economy, we are happy to do this,” Schmutzer said.

Glendale resident Vartkes Sinanian and his friends were having lunch at the fast food restaurant on Central Avenue on Friday and were glad that their money was going to the program.

“We fully appreciate it,” he said. “I think it’s a very good idea and we are happy to support them.”

Camille Levee, Glendale Healthy Kids’ executive director, knew about the fundraiser and bought some burgers.

Her organization gives information about the program to its clients and tells them where to go if they need help, she said.

“It’s important to the community,” Levee said.