The Salvation Army is one of, if not the richest non-profit organization in the world. Christmas time for them is bread & butter! They make the most of their money during the holiday season & I just want people to know what the Salvation Army that I attend does with it. They use to pay an hourly wage for kettle ringers, but now they just provide them with a hot meal, that's it. The volunteers (usually church members) that go & pick up the kettles, take it back to the church where they count the money & pocket money as well (steal it!). They collect the gifts from the angel trees & unwrap them & sort them out so that they can decide what child will get what gift. They also take whatever gifts that they want for their own children, leaving all the cheap junk for the needy kids. All the food that the local pantries donate to them is kept to feed their church members 3x a week. None of it goes back to needy/hungry people. Whatever is left over after the meals goes home with the officers (who are very overwieght).
This church use to have all kinds of programs & activities for the kids & adults of the church & the community (piano lessons, band, mime, etc). Now they have 1 or 2 things for the church members (maybe 10 people total if your lucky). They use to go out & visit the nursing homes & minister on the street corners. Now, they do nothing but preach & eat.
They have also put the church $19,000.00 + dollars in debt & have not helped the community one bit. They have opened up a 2nd thrift shop & it makes no money at all because the prices are high & what they are selling should have been tossed in the trash. The officers are old, overweight, & very close to retirement. They are just riding it out until they can retire. This is a cake job for them because they do nothing, nothing at all.
The previous officers (no longer with the army) were the biggest 2 faced, hyppocrites ever! They wouldn't let gay people attend the church or even the children of a lesbian couple! The male officer said things like "how can you live with yourself knowing what you are" "how can you pretend to be christian & expect God to love you this way". Let me tell you what this former male officer is now doing! He is a registered sex offender and can be found on megans law. He was convicted for child pornography!
I know all of this for a fact because I was there. I have seen it all with my own eyes. I no longer attend the church & I have not donated a dime to them since all of this. What they are doing is wrong! They are supposed to help the needy/hungry/poor & all they have been doing is helping themselves! Something needs to change!
So think twice before you drop that dollar in the kettle or donate that old sofa to The Salvation Army! | 
