The Salvation Army has kicked off its campaign for a $1.2 million dining hall expansion that will be 100% community funded and held a reception on Tuesday to say "thank you" to community donors making the project possible.
"Really, the Army is great because the community is great to the Army," The Salvation Army Captain Bradley Hargis said to a room full of people at the reception held in the current dining hall, the Red Shield Cafe.
The expansion of the cafe, which currently holds about 35 people, will increase its capacity to around 120 people. Construction will begin in the fall and is expected to be complete early next year.
The need for an expanded dining hall was seen over the past year when The Salvation Army served more than 27,000 meals to the community. Hargis said the goal is, and always has been, to have a place large enough to serve meals to community members that allows them to eat safely indoors out of the elements, and provides a sense of fellowship with one another.
"What we're doing right now is we are just making sure we're continuing relationships and talking to people, meeting with donors; letting them know what's happening so they can feel led to say, 'Hey, this is something I want to support,' rather than us just saying, 'Hey, can you give us some money?'" Captain Stephanie Hargis told The Sentinel-Record, saying this will be one of many receptions to come as the campaign progresses.
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"We're really just trying to let it sell itself just by getting to know new donors and continuing on with our relationship with already established donors," she said. "Anything that we do within this community ... could not be done without the donor. This wouldn't even be an idea if it hadn't been donors who helped to get us to where we are. Unless you know that you have a support of people, there's no way this could happen. So it's all because of them that we're able to even think about it."
Bradley Hargis said she expects about 200 to 250 preexisting donors to donate specifically to the campaign, but for anyone who would like to donate it can be done electronically through their Facebook Page, @SalArmyHotSprings, or with a check mailed to 115 Crescent Ave. He noted if it is meant for the expansion project specifically, the payment's memo should be "Hot Springs Expansion Project."
The financial campaign will end in July, but donations for the project will be accepted for the next three years.
"All donations will remain local. If they give to the campaign, they will remain here; they're not going somewhere else, but it is a 100% community-funded event," Hargis said. "So it's not going to come from somewhere else, it has to come from our community. ... But we're really excited about it, and we think we can do it."
Out of the over 27,000 people The Salvation Army fed in Hot Springs last year, Hargis said about 20% were chronically homeless, but 80% were not.
"The feeding program is more than just a meal; it's allowing individuals the opportunity to offset their income and use it for things they really need it for instead of having to worry about 'How am I going to feed my family tonight?' in the midst of fixing the car and paying rent and all those things," he said. "So in a lot of ways we really look at it as, it's homeless prevention."