Salvation Army rolls up their summer sleeves

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Salvation Army’s staff and volunteers are busily spending their summer helping local youth have a fun summer on top of their normal duties offering a variety of supportive services to those in need across the community.

“Summer for us is, ‘camp, camp, camp,’ Salvation Army Mat-Su Valley Corps Officer Major Kevin E. Bottjen said.

Hundreds of youth from across the state make their way to the Valley for the Salvation Army’s King’s Lake Camp for some fresh air, outdoor games and activities, and new friendships. The program is particularly geared toward low-income families who may not be able to afford other summer camps.

Bottjen said they have summer camps for multiple age groups. He said the King’s Lake Camp program is designed to help young people develop new skills, instill a sense of self-confidence, promote positive social interactions, and build a closer connection to God through the organization’s core Christian values.

“We’re Christianity with its sleeves rolled up,” Bottjen said. “It’s an honor to be involved.”

The Salvation Army is also hosting their annual Vacation Bible School a week before the school year starts. It’s a free program for elementary-aged children that offers a week filled with worship, arts and crafts, swimming, and outdoor recreation. This year’s theme is Hawaiin luau, according to Bottjen.

The Salvation Army is also gearing up for fall and winter, their busiest times of the year.

“We’re gonna keep going and doing what we’re doing,” Bottjen said.

The Salvation Army will be collecting donations to provide coats to local youth in need in October for their annual Pumpkin Patch Coat Drive with PrimeLending.

The Mat-Su Salvation Army, Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, and the Mat-Su Health Foundation teamed up to establish the Valley’s first new warming center to support the local transient population through the cold winter months.

Bottjen said they’ll likely open the Warming Center around October as the temperatures start plummeting.

The warming center is located at the Salvation Army Mat-Su Valley Corps office in Palmer. Local homeless looking for a warm place out of the elements can stay on nights 15 degrees or lower. Bottjen noted that they’ll likely revisit the temperature requirement this year.

“That is on the horizon and well definitely need volunteer am for that, and donations because it’s not cheap running a facility like that,” Bottjen said.

The Salvation Army is also continuing to offer food boxes to local households in need. For more information about food boxes and all the other services offered, call 907-745-7079 visit mat-suvalley.salvationarmy.org.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com