The Norridge Citadel Corps Community Center helps the community in the fight against hunger by sharing our need for food, even specific ethnic foods, through the local media, Advisory Council and Sunday corps bulletin.

There are several people and groups in our community who organize food drives among their neighbors and friends.  Often these folks will call ahead to ask what specific items are needed in the pantry.  We set aside funds in the budget to purchase food at a discounted cost through the Greater Chicago Food Depository, as well as, fresh produce through the Chicago Anti Hunger Federation.  Volunteers pick up food items (bread, eggs, cheesecake) donated by several stores and companies in our community on a weekly basis.  One local company hosts a farmers market in their parking lot.  Whatever does not sell is given to our food pantry.  Several residents donate fresh produce from their gardens.

Approximately 97 people are served on a weekly basis through our food pantry.  We have seen an increase in new families, as well as the size of the families, as family members are moving in with each other due to financial hardship, lack of employment and rising costs of housing, food, gas, etc.

We are always in need of extra assistance.  Volunteers and donors can help by conducting food drives in their neighborhoods; workplaces, churches, schools or social and civic groups. 

Here are some ideas: 

• Competitions among participants in amount or weight is a fun incentive. 
• Our local public library will receive non-perishable foods to be given to our pantry in lieu of book fines. 
• Instead of charging admission to a sports event, local schools will receive food items. 

Be creative and have fun!  It is also helpful to be sensitive to ethnicity. Norridge serves a large Eastern European population and well as a growing Middle Eastern population; we delight in being able to offer foods these populations enjoy or may miss from their country of origin.

We are also committed to helping erase hunger for our clients’ pets.  We offer dog and cat food through our pantry.  We receive pet food donations from a local pet supply store and community donors. 

If you would like to visit or volunteer at the Norridge Citadel Corps Community Center, please contact them at:

The Norridge Citadel Corps Community Center
Commanded By: Majors Stephen and Morag Yoder
8354 W. Foster, Norridge, IL 60656-3032
Tel: 708-456-6220
Fax: 708-456-9214

March 22, 2011 (Chicago) –   The Salvation Army Southern California Divisional Youth Band, a 33-piece brass ensemble featuring the best high school and college musicians from across Southern California, will perform in Chicago as the first stop in the group’s international tour at the Mayfair Community Church in Chicago (5020 N. Pulaski), on Saturday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m and at Rockford Temple Corps (500 S Rockford Avenue Rockford, IL), on Sunday, March 27 at 6:00 p.m.

The band will perform a variety of brass styles, from classical to jazz, and will also feature choral accompaniments.

Also performing at the benefit concert is world renowned opera singer Simon Kyung Lee, a tenor whose latest performances include La Boheme and Romantic & Tragic Love with the Singapore Lyric Opera. 

Entrance to the concert is FREE, but The Salvation Army will be collecting voluntary donations at the door to benefit The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts in Japan.

For the latest information about The Salvation Army’s efforts in Japan, continue to read our blog at http://salarmychicago.wordpress.com

There are other ways to contribute money to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts in Japan:

1. Text the words “Japan” or “Quake” to 80888 to make a $10 donation.
2. By phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY
3. On-line at:http://donate.salvationarmyusa.org
4. By mail: Send your check, marked “Japan earthquake relief” to:
   The Salvation Army World Service Office
   International Relief Fund
   PO Box 630728
   Baltimore, MD 21263-072800

Terms for texting: A one-time donation of $10.00 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Please be sure to respond with the word YES to the Thank You! message you will receive All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Visit mobilecause.com for terms and conditions or text HELP. Text STOP to cancel. Message & Data Rates May Apply.

Lis Bennett (top right) poses with some of her Japanese students.

For security measures, she was evacuated yesterday by her employing organization to the United States as radiation fears increased. After spending many years pouring into the local community and lives of her students, it is difficult for her to suddenly leave behind these dear friends and a country she’s grown to love.

The Daily News out of New York ran an interview with Lis in which she discussed what it was like at the school when the earth started shaking and the state of Japan in the days after. You can read the article here.

The school where Lis taught.

“Since this started, there have been days of peace and days where there is NO peace. It’s been a real roller-coaster ride for my emotions… Since there became concerns that the radiation was reaching our area, our bosses (the family who takes care of us so well) made a very difficult decision to send our whole team home. Which is a relief in some ways, yet so heartbreaking in others. I know in my heart that it’s best for us to go, but my heart aches deeply for the people of Japan, leaving these friends that I love so dearly, while they are here amidst devastation.

…

The family who takes care of us and many of my friends will stay in their homes until the [government] tells them they can no longer live here…this is their home, the one they’ve spent their lives building up…my heart is breaking.

…

It’s humbling to realize that some things, no matter how hard we try, can never be on our control. But what a relief to let go and just fall into the loving arms of our heavenly father, who’s the one IN control…THAT’S when we find our rest, reassurance, comfort, and peace…I am so thankful to know that God will make a way where there seems to be none…especially for Japan.”

To learn more about how The Salvation Army is providing relief to Japan, including Fukushima evacuees, click here. Thank you for your continuous prayers for the people of  Japan.

• The Salvation Army’s focus is on continuing to provide for the immediate needs of survivors but long-term plans are being developed, such as the provision of cooking equipment when people return to their communities.
• A Salvation Army disaster team that was set to head from Tokyo to the tsunami-hit northern part of the country has now made its way to Sendai, where a distribution of food and other supplies will take place Saturday morning.
• The Salvation Army in Japan also had three emergency service relief teams operating in impacted areas and carried out distributions of supplies in Sendai, Koriyama, Shirakawa, Fukushima Daiichi and Mito City on Wednesday 16 March and returned to The Salvation Army’s Japan Territorial Headquarters in Tokyo.
  • The teams have been recognized by the Japanese government and given access to access roads and areas currently closed off to the general public.
    • One team in Sendai handed out 1,000 hot meals as well as hot drinks and handi-towels to survivors.
    • Another team in the Mito area unloaded bottles of water, biscuits, blankets, diapers and tissue boxes for distribution to evacuees.
    • The third team headed to assist evacuees from near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, but snow and fuel shortages diverted the team to other areas to support evacuees.

The Salvation Army has had a presence in Japan since 1895 and is also mobilizing a significant international response to manage both immediate and long-term needs.

• Two experienced International Emergency Services workers have flown to Tokyo from International Headquarters in London to assist their Japanese colleagues.
• The Salvation Army’s Korea Territory has arranged for the K-Water Corporation to provide 100,000 bottles of water to be sent to Japan – 30,000 bottles by the end of the week, followed by the rest within a short time; the Korea Disaster Relief Association will also be sending 5,000 first-aid kits.
• In a touching show of solidarity 1,500 young Salvationists in Haiti – who themselves were recently impacted by a devastating earthquake – held a rally in Fond-des-Nègres to pray for victims and survivors in Japan.

The Salvation Army is calling on everyone to pray for the survivors and victims of the Japan earthquake.

• Monetary donations are the most critical need as supplies and personnel are mobilized.
• These funds offer the greatest flexibility and enable local disaster responders to purchase exactly what is needed as close to the disaster zone as possible.
• There are four ways people can contribute money to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts in Japan:
  • Text the words “JAPAN” or “QUAKE” to 80888 to make a $10 donation.
  • By phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY
  • On-line at:  https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org
  • By mail: Send your check, marked “Japan earthquake relief” to:
    The Salvation Army World Service Office
    International Relief Fund
    PO Box 630728
    Baltimore, MD 21263-0728
• At this time, The Salvation Army is not accepting donations of goods or household items (gifts-in-kind) from the general public for disaster relief operations in Japan. 
• The Salvation Army is extremely grateful for the generosity that has already poured in to help us meet both immediate and long-term needs.
• Here are there updated donation totals as of this afternoon, March 21. 

Online: …………………………………….. $3,321,710.00

Text to give: ……………………………….. $142,210.00

1800-SAL-ARMY…………………………. $82,000.00

Mail…………………………………………….. $196,080.00

Total……………………………………..     $3,742,000.00

For the latest updates on The Salvation Army’s response to this disaster, please visit http://salarmychicago.wordpress.com

A Japanese Salvation Army emergency vehicle en route. Three Salvation Army emergency response teams were sent out from Tokyo to Sendai, Mito and towards the Fukushima area.



The Salvation Army's emergency canteen vehicles have been working hard, serving hot food and drinks to a thousand people at a time.

Poor weather did not deter the crowds, lining up patiently outside The Salvation Army's corps (church) in Sendai.

The Salvation Army's corps (church) in Sendai, near the epicentre of the earthquake, is also distributing essential supplies.

Relief supplies, comprising bottled water, biscuits, blankets, towels and diapers were prepared for distribution.



A Salvation Army kitchen in north-east Japan, with officers and members catering for some of the thousands who have been displaced by the earthquake and tsunami.

The Salvation Army's officers and volunteers in Japan have been distributing packed lunches to evacuees and residents of earthquake-affected areas.