Column: The Salvation Army of Davidson County appreciates the love shown in this community

Whitney Morton
Whitney Morton

Keep those jingle bells ringing!

Being the new kid on the block is always an interesting experience — especially when it comes to learning a new community for the holiday season. As the new Salvation Army officer in town I’ve had this experience quite a few times in communities all over the southeast but never before have experienced such incredible partnerships when it comes to meeting Christmas needs!

From taking care of those who need to access community resources on a more regular basis to those who need just a little bit of assistance to experience Christmas cheer, every neighbor brings something to the collective holiday table so that the joy of the season rings out for everyone to hear!

On a daily basis community members in need can access myriad resources through Medical Ministries, DC First Hope, The Salvation Army, Senior Services and so many other truly amazing and helpful organizations. Upon arriving in town I was so blessed to see that we all work together for the good of our community — connecting the dots for those who have resources to give and for those who need resources to help reach their goals.

I am so excited to see what unfolds in the days ahead as we work on the DC Connect program that will provide even greater access to all food, financial assistance, employment and medical and housing resources. For me, it was like receiving an early Christmas gift to meet and begin to work with so many incredible people!

When it comes to the holidays, I was even more impressed with my new community! Every single age group has at least one organization working to provide extra Christmas blessings for neighbors in need. Holiday needs look different for various groups — sometimes a holiday need is a visit to a neighbor in a care facility — someone to share a Christmas cookie with and a few stories.

It can also come in the form of helping parents and custodial grandparents and guardians with toys and gifts to wrap up and tuck under the Christmas tree. What an incredible thing to provide the first bike — for a child who will ride and have amazing adventures and for the parent who will treasure that child’s Christmas joy for a lifetime.

A struggle that The Salvation Army often has is providing gifts for teens in households and this is the very first community I have ever been a part of that has a group that focusses precisely on this age group! The Empty Stocking Fund — an organization that has been thriving for over twenty-five years — blesses teens in an unparalleled way!

Shopping specifically for teens, an all-too-often forgotten set of kiddos, Empty Stocking Fund makes sure that their Christmas dreams come true. Hearing stories from throughout the ages of Mr. Sink and his commitment to teens and being honored to have Dr. Lloyd Lohr (who delivered so many children over the years) as our honorary chair for our Angel Tree program, I am reminded that I live in one of the best places on earth!

This year more than ever, The Salvation Army of Davidson County is grateful for these partnerships and for the love each bag of toys and box of gifts represents. So as the sleigh bells jingle and the silver bells (at our kettles, no less) ring, lift up a chorus of prayers thanking God for His goodness in this community. “Joy to the world” is something many more will be singing this Christmas morn because of the kindness shown through partnerships and being just plain, old-fashioned good neighbors!

Major Whitney Morton is a corps officer at The Salvation Army of Davidson County.

This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Davidson County's people and organizations help meet Christmas needs