Salvation Army and United Way deliver meal boxes to people in need

Beckley, WV (WOAY) – The Salvation Army is partnering with the United Way to deliver more than 50 meal boxes to people in need.

Jerry Lester, captain of the salvation army, says that a lot of people they’re delivering to are those who have a hard time getting out of their homes. 

“A lot of our elderly people can’t get out and today we’ve got maybe 15 volunteers who are coming in to distribute this food I’m giving them today to get  out,” Lester said. 

The Salvation Army has been working tirelessly even before the pandemic hit to provide support to families in need. According to Lester, the need to help others will never fully be gone. 

“You are always gonna have people who are each and every day needing some type of assistance. Once the food and everything is taken care of and gone then we’ve still got people coming in as of now for electric bills, water bills, things like that.”

One of the biggest reasons they’re able to help people year-round is because of the vast amount of volunteers they get. Doug Legursky with the United Way says it’s his pleasure to volunteer in this time of need.

“I think everybody should have a little of want to volunteer for their community, whether it’s an epidemic going on or just an average day. You know there’s always people in every community who need a little extra lift up and an extra hand,” Legursky said.

But despite the help from volunteers, the Salvation Army has been low on donations in recent weeks. Lester says that more donations are going to be necessary if they want to be able to keep giving out food in the near future.

We’re really asking the communities of Fayette County, Summers County, Raleigh County, Nicholas County to take us into consideration  to send a donation into us so I can purchase more food to get more boxes made up.”

The food donations that the Salvation Army gets primarily come from the USDA. But in recent weeks a lot of that food has instead been going to other communities with even greater need, which is why the Salvation Army needs all the food donations it can get.

Sponsored Content