Salvation Army Mesquite Grateful for Support

By Abbey Snow

Salvation Army Mesquite Grateful for Support

The Salvation Army Mesquite has been diligently receiving help from the community and are grateful for all the support.However, they are currently in dire need of school supplies for their back to school drive ‘Backpacks for Kids.’

Bill Ennis has been the director for two years at the current location. He is responsible for the overall operations and management of the Service Center. Case Manager Jessica Powell has been with the Salvation Army Mesquite for five years.She takes care of their client’s needs and helps them with DWSS applications (SNAP/MED/TANF/EAP).

Ennis said the items that they need this time of year are basic food items such as mashed potatoes, canned goods, and boxed items. Also Powell said they are in need of Hygiene items such as toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, Size 5 and 6 Diapers, Toothbrushes and toothpaste, and Laundry soap.

When asked if donations drop when it isn’t during the holiday season,

Ennis said “They do drop, however once I put the word out then the community will step in. Mesquite is an extremely giving town.”

“I call it our quiet season,” said Powell “Were we don’t do too much vending and getting out in the community. We still get donations but not as much during our holiday seasons.”

They are currently holding a back to school drive they call ‘Backpacks for Kids’ and are in need of those items necessary to fill the backpacks. They have been doing this program for over five years now.

“We do need school supplies,” Ennis said “ Currently we are doing a back-to-school drive and are needing items such as pencils, pens, rulers, crayons to fill the back packs we have. However, this year there are several other organizations that are also doing back to school drives, and due to that, we are not seeing the school supplies donations we did last year. We have 104 children signed up so far, but only enough supplies for about 20, so we are in dire need of school supplies”

They do have the backpacks, but they just need the supplies to fill them up with. They will be handing out the backpacks and supplies on the 4th of August, so that Tuesday will be the cut off for getting supplies. They have been doing this for over five years now, so many have come to depend on the program for their kids. The clients come in and sign up and let them know how many children they have and their ages. They get them into the system and then starting on the 4th of August they can come in and pick up their backpacks.So if anything is time sensitive for donations, it would be the school supplies for these backpacks.

When asked what the community could do to help the Salvation Army, Ennis said,” For the most part, they already are, I have a few places that are holding food drives and bringing in some school supplies.”

“I have lived here for 34 years, and I love this community,” said Powell. “When we do ask for help, we are blessed with many donations. Also, the donation of a person’s time, our volunteers are so wonderful and we rely on them a lot during the holidays.”

“I am very grateful for the great community we have here in Mesquite,” Ennis said.” They are very giving and understanding. Even in these economically tough times, the community is still willing to help out and for that I am so very grateful.”

You can visit the Salvation Army Mesquite at 742 Pioneer Blvd Suite D Mesquite, NV 89027 or call them at (702) 345-5116. They welcome all donations. *(Except household items and furniture, used toys).

(Photo credit: Jessica Powell)