Being a volunteer for The Salvation Army requires enthusiasm and willingness to dedicate long hours and even entire days to extend a helping hand to families and individuals in Columbia who need help. Buck Bucklew, a faithful volunteer, is one of these individuals who The Salvation Army relies on to be a good role model for others. Buck Bucklew is an individual with the willingness to help others. Bucklew wanted to use this desire for the good of his community. He has been a volunteer in a Salvation Army Thrift Store for four years. Bucklew has been so dedicated to his job at The Salvation Army, that he was offered an employment opportunity there. Bucklew believes that The Salvation Army is a very worthy cause and rewarding experience.
“To see families come in that have lost their homes, and everything that they have, and be able to offer them help is worth more than all the money in the world,” Bucklew says.
Bucklew describes his feelings as very gratifying when he was visited by a family that lost their home in a fire. The family was left with nothing, so they went to The Salvation Army for help. Bucklew was able to give the family a voucher for supplies that they needed. The voucher allowed the family a certain amount of money for shopping in the thrift store. The family was able to get clothing, pot and pans, dishes and other supplies.
Bucklew explained that being able to help one family makes him want to help more. He recognizes the great need for people willing to reach out to those less fortunate. Bucklew is a strong believer that all people who are able, should be of service to their community. “If you have a heart for helping others, then you should volunteer. We really do need more of those kinds of people,” Bucklew says.
If you would like more information, or would like to volunteer, please contact:
The Salvation Army - Columbia Office
2025 Main Street
Columbia , SC 29202
Tel: 803-765-0260
Click Here For Video Commentary from Matt Kennell of City Center Partnership on Shelters
“Welcome to Hannah House,” Bonnie Smith tells me as she frantically tries to figure out why the smoke detector is going off.
The phone rings and she picks it up, then says, “No, no, don’t send the fire trucks, we have it under control.” She looks at me after she hangs up and says, “They’re sending the fire trucks anyway.”
I get the idea that it is always like this at Hannah House. With such a small all-volunteer staff, it is hard to manage a 24 hour-a-day women’s and children’s shelter.
When the fire trucks get there, they figure out that someone took a shower and when she opened the door, she let the steam out which set off the alarm. Hannah House settles down to a calmer atmosphere as I sit down with Sylvia Johnson, the Volunteer Coordinator.
She looks like she has a million other things on her mind during the interview in a small but organized office. I can understand why: she is the woman in charge of the house, the other volunteers, and everything that happens there. And she does it all for free.
She tells me that she has been involved in Hannah House from the beginning. It was created in December 1999 after the Oliver Gospel Mission realized that homeless women and children should be housed apart from men.
Hannah House is a place where women and children can come for shelter, safety, recovery, Bible studies, job interviews, and educational programs. The facility can house up to 41 residents in either a dorm-like environment for single women or family units for women with children.
The goal of Hannah House is to equip women to be more productive members of society. This is a difficult task for these volunteers for many reasons.
For one, Johnson tells me that the house is all privately funded, with no government support. The volunteers have to make time to go to churches to ask for donations. She has to check her calendar to see if she is available to speak to First Presbyterian and ask for more money.
Another reason it is a difficult operation task is that Hannah House is not just a shelter for abused women. They get women from prisons and mental hospitals. They get drug addicts and people who have to take medicine to stay mentally healthy. Some women they are not equipped to deal with, and they don’t have the funding to help. They work with a number of places that give free services for eye exams, physicals, and dental exams.
The rules to get in are strict: you must be homeless, be capable of working, and have not stayed at Hannah House before. Any woman caught with drugs or alcohol or breaking curfew, is immediately asked to leave.
Smith, the Project Director, tells me that the women often ask if Hannah House finds jobs for them.
“The answer is ‘no’. We will do everything we can to help them find a job for themselves,” she said.
When we are almost done with the interview, I ask Sylvia Johnson what keeps her here. Her answer is simple: the children. She says, “When you’ve been given a lot, you need to give a lot.”
Click Here for Images from Hannah House
More than 117 years ago, when Rev. Robert Oliver bought property at the corner of Assembly and Taylor Streets, he had a plan to uplift homeless males in the community.
He built a three-and-a-half story building that would offer homeless males somewhere to go during their tough times. And so began the Oliver Gospel Mission.
The Oliver Gospel Mission works to rescue and rebuild troubled men’s lives. Their mission statement is “to see that homeless and broken men are sheltered, given the gospel of Jesus Christ, and equipped to live responsibly.”
During their yearlong stay, the Oliver Gospel Mission assists the men in finding jobs, helps them to better manage their finances and pay off debts, teaches them how to use a computer and work with basic computer programs. Counselors help the men in reorganizing and restructuring their lives to become members of society again.
Some of the men may seek further education and obtain their GED (General Education Development), which is the equivalent of a high school diploma, while staying at the Oliver Gospel Mission. Medical and dental care is also offered. Veterans can receive help in obtaining Veteran’s Aid.
For those men who are not able to stay long-term at the mission, hot meals are served nightly and year-round. Any homeless man is permitted to stay overnight at the Mission, but he must pass a Breathalyzer test first. Only sober men are allowed to stay.
Donations play a critical role in shaping the Oliver Gospel Mission, because it does not receive federal, state or local funding. It operates strictly on donations.
Ultimately, the Mission hopes “to rescue the needy from those things that hold them in bondage and to rebuild them so that they can live Christ-centered, functioning, responsible, and fruitful lives.”
Established in 1981, Sistercare, Inc. provides services for battered women and their children residing in Richland, Lexington, Fairfield, Newberry and Kershaw counties in South Carolina. The organization offers community counseling services, legal advocacy, emergency shelters, children’s services, community education and awareness, medical crisis intervention services and follow-up programs for victims. A 24-hour, 7-days-a-week service line is also operated for women in need of domestic violence services.