By ALESHA CAPONE
THE SALVATION Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal is approaching – and the Sunshine Salvos team have appealed for residents to volunteer for the annual event.
Captain Lilian Platts has been with The Salvation Army’s Sunshine branch for eight years, and she said the Red Shield Appeal is the charity’s biggest fund-raising event.
“I guess looking back over the years, we’re always wanting to get more volunteers – because the need is getting greater and greater,” Ms Platts said.
“What I enjoy is getting out and meeting people, in Sunshine people are very community-minded,” she said.
Ms Platts said often people who had been through hard times themselves wanted to donate to the cause.
“A lot of people who donate remember when the Salvos helped them in the past,” she said.
“It might have been after a house fire or when someone lost a job, lots of people want to give back.
“Sometimes, elderly people remember the Salvation Army from the war.”
The Red Shield Appeal helps The Salvation Army provide more than 100,000 meals, 5000 food vouchers and 2000 beds to homeless people every week.
The charity needs volunteers for the doorknock on the weekend of 25 and 26 May.
“You can never have too many volunteers, so we always take the time people can give, whether it’s an hour, three hours or four hours,” Ms Platts said.
“Really, we can never have too many – if we got another 50 or 60 we could easily find spots for them.”
The Salvos want to hear from individuals, businesses, associations, schools and community groups who could give a few hours of their time across the weekend.
To become a volunteer, visit www.salvationarmy.org.au, contact 13 SALVOS (13 72 58) or the Sunshine office on 9364 9335.
