COLORADO SPRINGS — The Salvation Army served free Christmas Day meals at several locations in El Paso County on Christmas Eve.
The organization served up to 2,000 to-go meals throughout El Paso County at the following locations:
- The Salvation Army at 908 Yuma Street for pick-up and delivery only
- Woodland Park Church of the Nazarene at 900 Evergreen Heights Drive for pick-up and delivery only
- Manitou Springs Town Hall at 606 Manitou Avenue for pick-up, delivery and drive-thru only
In years past, people could dine with other members of the community, or show up at the shelter to pick up their meals.
This year was a bit different.
To keep everyone safe, volunteers either handed out or delivered the meals to people's door steps. Including Victoria Datanagan.
"It's just the day that I can do my part to remind people that in the middle of the coronavirus where it's so dark that there are still people that care about them and want to spread joy," said Datanagan.
The Salvation Army says going into Friday, they knew the need for meals would be higher than previous years.
"A lot of people have been furloughed or reduced hours because of COVID," said Doug Hansen, Salvation Army officer.
So this year, Hansen was sure to help those in need.
"People may have lost hope during this season. We are just one other way that we can re-instill hope in other people. There are people that care," said Hansen.
Hansen says the Army was astonished by all of the support from people, they actually had to turn some volunteers away.
"It's a shame. We wanted to take everyone that wanted to help give back to other people because that is all what we are doing here," said Hansen.
So as we inch closer to the end of the year that came with many challenges, Hansen wants to share a message from The Salvation Army, "So if you are going through a tough time not just because of Christmas, and you are hearing about this on Christmas day, the Salvation Army is here to help way after it. We have been around for 150 years and we are not going anywhere."
Are you interested in volunteering for The Salvation Army? You can Click here to learn more!
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