BRIDGING PAST & PRESENT
The Salvation Army’s Communications Service Fit for the future Communications Service of The Salvation Army
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Contents Foreword
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Introduction
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Background
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The Communications Service
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Ecumenical Affairs
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The International Heritage Centre
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The Marketing and Fundraising Department
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The Media Office
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The Public Affairs Unit
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The Publishing Department
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The Schools and Colleges Unit
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The Video Production Unit
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Foreword Not surprisingly for an organisation that has been in existence since the 1800s, The Salvation Army faces many challenges to prove that it is still relevant. Our faith is often tested on the everyday issues that confront us. We’re questioned by people who don’t share our faith and may seek to undermine our motives. We’re sometimes criticised by institutions who doubt if we are equipped to deliver on a range of social policy programmes. And like Christians throughout the ages who were interrogated about their faith, we are asked why an evangelistic movement that William Booth started nearly 150 years ago has any significance in today’s world. We would claim that as we are still here, we must be doing something right. The Salvation Army is one of the top charities in the UK and provides significant services to those in need. However, we’re not complacent – we recognise the necessity of telling people about our work and our achievements and to show how we deal with modern-day issues in Britain and around the world. The Salvation Army’s Communications Service plays an important part in helping to get our message across. The service comprises: The Ecumenical Affairs Unit Contributing to the larger ambition of promoting understanding and co-operation among Christian churches worldwide; The International Heritage Centre A place for research comprising a library and museum where historical material and memorabilia is archived; The Marketing and Fundraising Department Which helps us resource our work; The Media Office Our interface with the outside world; The Public Affairs Unit Lobbying Government and others and influencing policy; The Publishing Department Producing the popular magazines we publish each week; The Schools and Colleges Unit Providers of learning resources, working with schools in the UK and abroad; The Video Production Unit Making videos about issues here and abroad. In the year 2012, The Salvation Army commemorated the anniversary of William Booth’s death, and the Communications Service took the opportunity to showcase its work through leaflets and through this publication. The aim was to demonstrate how The Salvation Army engages with topical issues like the Olympics, offers assistance and encouragement when people are at their lowest ebb and helps turn peoples’ lives around. We have many examples of projects which demonstrate how we are making William Booth’s legacy a reality. We are proud of today’s Army and we think you will be too.
Commissioner Clive Adams Territorial Commander, The Salvation Army
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Introduction The Salvation Army is a community-based Christian church committed to social action. Its founder, William Booth, vowed to ‘offer a hand up, not a hand out’ to the disadvantaged people he met through his ministry in the 19th century. When he died in 1912, the Army was established in 58 countries – today this figure has risen to 126. In commemorating the death of William Booth in 2012, we reflected on whether things had changed since his day. Poverty still exists alongside great wealth in the UK and abroad. An array of social problems, including homelessness and substance abuse (both present in William Booth’s day), continue to plague society. Some say it is part of the human condition that certain people will experience abject poverty and others immense fortunes. But despite that, anyone – rich or poor – can suffer a change in circumstance and need a helping hand. And this is where The Salvation Army comes in. Today’s Britain would seem a strange place to William Booth. We are a nation where people of all faiths and none co-exist – yet secularism is said to be on the increase. Children are seduced by fame, celebrity, the latest designer clothes and new technology. We are beset with dangers beyond our control – floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes. Man-made problems exist in the form of terrorism, tribal conflicts and wars leading to families being torn apart and individuals fleeing to find refuge miles away. Life often seems chaotic for many people. But at such difficult times The Salvation Army helps pick up the pieces. We provide support for the homeless, people with drink and substance abuse problems and families and individuals dealing with difficult issues. We comfort those traumatised by events such as the 2011 civil unrest in UK cities and the terror attack in Norway. The Salvation Army has a reach wide enough to extend to young gang members as well as victims of human trafficking – all symptoms of our modern age. William Booth’s mission many years ago was to ‘save souls, grow saints and serve suffering humanity’. This ambition, which is in our Mission Statement, still drives us today. Recent research revealed that many people were unaware of the scale of The Salvation Army’s work and amazed at the range of our programmes. The Salvation Army believes Christianity is a practical faith, calling for expressions in deeds. To accusations of proselytising, we say that in times of distress people often find solace in hearing how faith has helped others. As Secretary of Communications, the role of my service is to transmit messages to the wider world. The year 2012 was an important year because the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee and the Army commemorated the final speech of William Booth in May followed by the Olympics’ mountain bike events at Hadleigh Farm in July. All this helped to demonstrate our achievements and our relevance to events in today’s world. The Communications Service is ready to meet modern-day challenges and this publication illustrates that by highlighting the broad range of our work.
Lieut-Colonel Marion Drew Secretary for Communications
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Background William Booth was born in Nottingham in 1829. At the age of 13, he was apprenticed to a pawnbroker to help support his mother and sisters. He disliked the job, but it helped educate him about poverty and the problems suffered by the poor. He became a Christian during his teenage years and spent his spare time encouraging others to become Christians. As a young man he moved to London, where he continued work as a pawnbroker’s assistant until he became involved in full-time Christian ministry. William Booth was so moved by the plight of the poor in London’s East End, that in 1865 he and his wife set up The Christian Mission (renamed The Salvation Army in 1878). Booth had been a Methodist minister but broke away from mainstream religion, believing the church to be too elitist and pompous. He became an evangelist and open-air preacher ministering to anyone who would listen. His followers, mainly from the working classes, were people whose lives Booth believed he could change by offering them ‘soup, soap and salvation’. The Salvation Army was set up along military lines with its own uniform and flag. Christian words were put to music that was popular in the 19th century. William Booth regarded his movement as one engaged in a spiritual battle against poverty, alcoholism, addiction and the forces of evil. Many of his original converts were considered undesirable and not welcomed in polite Christian society. Booth showed great courage in taking on such established and entrenched views. Today The Salvation Army is a charity and a church, providing Christian worship services and practical support in 175 different languages. It is divided into geographical territories which subdivide into divisions. Each territory has a territorial headquarters and each division a divisional headquarters. Territories are led by a territorial commander who is accountable to the Army’s International Headquarters in London. The Salvation Army internationally is led by General Linda Bond, who was elected to this position by the Army’s High Council in January 2011. As a quasi-military organisation, the Army uses military symbols such as a flag and shield. The flag symbolises its battle against sin and social evils while the red shield has its origins in Salvation Army service in wartime. The Army’s musical tradition, demonstrated through its brass bands and choirs (known as songsters), is acknowledged worldwide and is a key part of its ministry. With a message based on the Bible, its motivation is the love of God for all humankind. The Salvation Army, In addition to the above, is also a non-governmental relief agency helping to alleviate suffering after natural or man-made disasters. It was present following the 2001 9/11 terror attack in New York and the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, as well as recent earthquakes in Haiti and Japan. Well known for its charity shops, the Army has a network of these around the world selling donated clothing and other items to help raise funds for social programmes. Within the last 12 years, the Army has created a movement for a new generation of young people called ALOVE, which allows them to express their faith in their own way. ALOVE is a member of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services. In May 2012, to commemorate the centenary of ‘I’ll Fight’, William Booth’s final speech in 1912, the Army chose social justice as its theme for a conference and congress. With the establishment of a Social Justice Working Group in January 2011, the centenary was an ideal opportunity to reiterate the importance of social justice to the Army. Delivering social justice to help the poor, the marginalised and the dispossessed is the cornerstone of the Army’s work. Salvationists believe it’s through the teachings of the Bible and the actions of William Booth that social justice is best understood. The ‘I’ll Fight’ Congress brought delegates to London from Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and was considered a huge success. The conference launched a social justice network to give Salvationists a forum for sharing ideas and having debate. It also sought advocates to mentor and guide those who want to know more about social justice.
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The Communications Service The Salvation Army’s Communications Service was established in 2002 and encompasses the following disciplines: • ecumenical issues; • the International Heritage Centre; • marketing and fundraising; • press and web media; • public affairs; • publishing; • a schools and colleges information service; • video production. The Communications Service helps promote and enhance the image of the Army as a church and as a charity dealing with the modern-day issues of the 21st century. The Communications Service seeks to reach a range of audiences of all age groups, interests, faiths and no faith and to convey key messages about the Army’s work and our role in society. The aims of the Communications Service are to: • raise awareness of The Salvation Army; • protect and enhance the Army’s reputation; • foster understanding of its policy programmes; • raise funds for social welfare programmes; • engage with the public in debate; • promote recruitment to the church; • ensure the consistency and accuracy of corporate messages. Each unit within the Communications Service is committed to advancing the work of the Army and highlighting the different ways current social problems are tackled using the modern tools at our disposal. The following articles illustrate our work and demonstrate the wide range of topics we cover as a service.
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Ecumenical Affairs The Territorial Ecumenical Officer represents and advocates for The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, within the ecumenical and interfaith networks. Promoting Christian unity Salvationists have always been ecumenically aware and active. William and Catherine Booth believed the Army was raised up by God as a living part of the Church. In her teenage years Catherine Booth was a supporter of the Evangelical Alliance and the Booths believed that Christ gave a great mission to his people that could only ever be fulfilled by Christians from all the churches working together. This heritage is reflected in the Army’s Territorial Ecumenical Vision Statement as follows: The Salvation Army is an international movement, an evangelical expression of the Body of Christ and an integral part of the worldwide Christian Church with its own distinctive governance and practice. Comprising a community of believers we commit ourselves to: • make known our common life in Christ through shared witness, worship and service; • participate with our ecumenical partners, locally and nationally, in areas of social action and engagement in the public concern; • deepen relationships through fellowship and shared pilgrimage; • seek to do collectively all that would further the Kingdom of God.
The role of the Territorial Ecumenical Officer The Territorial Ecumenical Officer helps encourage Salvationists to work together with other churches and fellow Christians. He represents the Army on bodies which have been created to enable churches to relate to each other in shared witness to Jesus Christ, shared exploration of faith and belief and for mutual support and encouragement. These bodies include Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Churches Together in England, the Free Churches Group and the Evangelical Alliance. The Army’s engagement with other churches throughout the territory is vibrant and includes representation on national ecumenical bodies such as Action of Churches Together in Scotland, Cytûn – Welsh for ‘agreed’ – Churches Together in Wales, and the Irish Council of Churches. Salvationists also serve on those networks which bring Christians together across the four nations to consider matters such as the environment, social policy, racial justice and the Church’s engagement with the media. The Territorial Ecumenical Officer supports Salvationists in the development of projects at a local level.
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Chaplaincy at Heathrow Airport Heathrow is the third busiest airport internationally in terms of total passenger traffic and handles more international passengers than any other airport in the world. The airport employs directly more than 76,000 people and welcomes more than 60 million passengers through its terminals every year. The airport’s chaplaincy team, which covers all major religions and denominations, are tasked with meeting the religious and spiritual needs of Heathrow’s staff and passengers. Majors Betty and Melvyn Ackroyd were The Salvation Army chaplains at Heathrow until November 2012. Melvyn said:
We offer a presence ministry, which Betty and I refer to as ‘holy loitering with intent’. This means that we seek to make ourselves available for when people need us. If we walked through the terminal now, we probably wouldn’t get very far without someone stopping to talk to us. You can’t underestimate the importance of people’s faces and their expressions. Everyone’s face tells a story.’
‘We are, of course, very involved in the religious life of the airport. We have multi-faith prayer rooms in all the terminals which are used in lots of different ways. People will use them individually to have some quiet contemplation time or to pray. ‘We are here to meet not just religious needs but also human needs without discrimination.
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Street pastors in Stamford, Lincolnshire Street Pastors is an interdenominational network of Christian charities that provide a neutral and reassuring presence in local communities. Set up in the United Kingdom, this initiative has now spread worldwide. Several years ago Stamford Corps (church) began a Matthew 5:16 ministry (‘Let your light shine’) in the town, giving out water on Friday nights to youngsters clubbing in the town centre and out on the Meadows. This outreach activity inspired four other churches to join with the Army in establishing a Street Pastors initiative. Street Pastors look out for clubbers, providing flip-flops, water or a helping hand to those too inebriated to act safely or those who are vulnerable to predatory behaviour. Already there is evidence of reduced vandalism and a safer environment in the town.
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Local engagement Locally, Salvationists are working with other Christians in the following ways: workplace ministries, airport chaplaincies, bereavement support groups, Women’s World Day of Prayer committees, university chaplaincies, prison and young offenders chaplaincies, faith leaders forums, intercessory prayer groups, anti-human trafficking working groups, faith studies networks, child protection groups, London Borough Deans, Standing Advisory Committees for Religious Education (SACRES), citizens groups, media advisory councils, spirituality and pilgrimage advisory groups, street pastors, café evangelism and outreach, local action on social justice issues, and shared worship and ministry and outreach. Salvationists serve as chaplains in ecumenical teams in a number of major airports across the territory including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Dublin. Airport chaplaincy teams are established as local ecumenical partnerships, an arrangement which provides a framework for sharing work and resources and at the heart of which lies a covenant entered into freely and faithfully by the churches and Christians in partnership.
Community initiatives When, after forty years’ absence, the Army re-established its presence in the Forest of Dean at Littledean, the creation of a local ecumenical partnership helped local Salvationists to build a fresh expression of church in the heart of the community.
Sharing in worship Many corps and centres around the territory are discovering the benefits of working ecumenically and sharing resources. They discover that far from Salvationists losing their identity when they share in worship, fellowship and service, the Army’s distinctive missional calling is valued and validated in the experience. The mission that Christ gave his people is too big for any one part of the Church to fulfil on its own. However, when Christians of different denominations work together, each with their distinctive callings, gifts and insights, they combine in a rich expression of Kingdom life. Then that mission can become a life-changing, world-transforming vision.
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The International Heritage Centre The IHC collects, preserves, catalogues, researches and makes accessible material that describes the life and work of The Salvation Army and the collections form a library, archive and museum. The cornet that went to war About six years ago a very old cornet, in its original leather case, was given to The Salvation Army’s International Heritage Centre (IHC) by Major Olive Prince, a retired officer (minister) of The Salvation Army, who has sadly now passed away. Like several items donated to the IHC collection, this cornet was the subject of a fascinating story. Olive’s father, Lieut-Colonel William Stewart, was born in Stirling in 1887. His father, Olive’s grandfather, had been a train driver on the Glasgow to Oban line where, one day, on the foot-plate of the engine of this train, he was converted to Christianity by his Christian fireman. Soon after his conversion, William’s father and the immediate family joined The Salvation Army in Stirling. William could not have known it, but his lifelong musical adventure began the day his parents gave him a cornet as a birthday present.
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As a young man, William studied to be an accountant and eventually moved to London. He became a Salvation Army soldier at Tottenham 1 Corps where he met and fell in love with Olive Harrison. In 1914, as an engaged couple, William and Olive answered God’s call to full-time service in The Salvation Army by entering the Clapton Training Garrison. At the end of his training to become a Salvation Army officer, William was appointed to Sunderland 1 Corps and Olive to Houghton-le-Spring. By the time William arrived in Sunderland, the First World War had broken out. He was still young and lacking in confidence, so he felt diffident about leading meetings and visiting families whose husbands and sons were fighting in the war. He decided to join up himself and travelled to Aldershot to enrol in the Armed Forces. For the first two weeks William continued to wear his Salvation Army lieutenant’s uniform, but following a short spell of military training he was posted to Salonika where he proudly wore his tartan kilt of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. William was subsequently decorated on the field of battle with the Croix de Guerre. The subject of this story, William’s cornet, went with him to the battlefields. It was kept in a leather case which had to double as his pillow. William’s faith and commitment to God and The Salvation Army were never forgotten and when the opportunity presented itself William would hang a faded Army flag on a tree stump to rally fellow Salvationists and other Christians to gather for worship amid the noise of the battle. Sometimes, when there was a lull in the conflict, William would go up into the hills to play his cornet, always ending with a hymn tune. On William’s return to Britain in October 1919, he and Olive were married and appointed to Salvation Army corps work in the United Kingdom. During service at different corps William always had his beloved cornet with him. Then in 1923 came a transfer to International Headquarters and with it an appointment to the International Staff Band (ISB). As well as being solo cornet player in the ISB, William played in the Cambridge Heath Band led by Bandmaster Colonel George Fuller. William always went where he felt there was a need and so he moved to Leyton to become the bandmaster there. He took a keen interest in the young people’s band learners’ class, because these youngsters would be the musicians of the future. During that time, William was invited to Paris to broadcast a programme of cornet solos. This was a great, and well deserved, honour though sadly his family were unable to hear the broadcast on their wireless. William was later moved to the Hadleigh Farm Colony to be Financial Secretary.Whilst there, Commissioner James Allister Smith appointed him as the Colony’s band instructor, a post William accepted because he felt his playing days were drawing to a close. However, in 1944 the bandmaster of the ISB, Major Eric Ball, resigned and William was asked to take over as the ISB bandmaster. He protested that he was too old for such an assignment but the Chief refused to accept this and threatened to disband the ISB. Of course William could not ‘abandon’ his band so he agreed to become ISB bandmaster. He held that position until 1947. To facilitate his new responsibilities, William was appointed Financial Secretary at the International Training College, from where he retired in 1952. William’s exploits brought him recognition – and some converts – as his daughter, Olive, discovered when she went for a candidate’s interview at Divisional Headquarters in Manchester. On arrival, the Divisional Commander said to her: ‘Before I start the interview, I have something remarkable to tell you. Two weeks ago, a man stopped me on the main road and said,“Salvation Army – do you know an Army man called William Stewart?” When the Divisional Comander said yes, the man revealed that he had fought in Salonika during the First World War and witnessed William going up to the hillside to play his cornet.’ He said, ‘William Stewart always ended with a rousing hymn tune which led, one night, to my conversion – and my Christian faith holds good to this day’. Lieut-Colonel William Stewart died in 1977. His cornet is now a major feature of the Music Gallery in the International Heritage Centre’s museum.
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The Marketing and Fundraising Department The aim of the Marketing and Fundraising Department is to raise awareness of, and financial support for, the social and community work done by The Salvation Army for those in need. Springfield Lodge – a home from homelessness The Salvation Army runs hostels for men, women and families in the UK and Ireland. They are known as Lifehouses and they offer activities, training and help to improve the self-esteem, mental health and employment prospects of those who use them. The Army makes the claim that a Lifehouse is more than a shelter or bed for the night – it gives people their lives back! One of these Lifehouses is Springfield Lodge in the London Borough of Southwark, which helps homeless young men achieve independent living in their own permanent accommodation. The services are available to those aged 16 – 21 years, in receipt of state benefit and in need of support to live independently in the community. The target group for Springfield Lodge comes from the Southwark area and is classed as needing medium to high support. Residents, who usually stay for 12 to 18 months, have often been made homeless by parents, guardians or through their own actions and frequently exhibit evidence of drug abuse, gang-related behaviour or behavioural problems. Staff help them to break with past learnt
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attitudes and adopt more acceptable ones. They are helped to re-examine their lives, to evaluate their skills set and consider what new skills they might need to move on. Despite the complexity and challenge of the job, there have been many successes. Current as well as former residents can access the Springfield Lodge facilities. This contact ensures that the Lodge continues to keep positive links with the young people it has helped, especially those who may have been forced to move on before their individual development plan was fulfilled. Support can also be accessed by any vulnerable young people who may have been excluded from other services because of their anti-social behaviour.
Aims and objectives Springfield Lodge aims: • to help service users gain access to employment training, educational or vocational courses or full-time employment; • to equip them practically and socially for independent life in the community; • to resettle them into their own accommodation. This is done by: • working with local authorities, and other statutory and voluntary agencies, to meet the housing needs of local homeless men; • providing good quality premises, facilities and resources with the support of The Salvation Army; • providing a flexible service response to the service user’s individual needs and promoting client involvement, consultation and choice. This includes practical advice and help with budgeting, cleaning, cooking and other life skills.
Rebuilding this facility Springfield Lodge was originally purpose-built as an older peoples’ home. Over the years, it had minor refurbishments to convert it into a resettlement centre but was assessed as beyond economic repair or refurbishment in 2010. However, since then, following demolition of the residential centre facility at the front of the Springfield Lodge site, a new residential centre and training and activity venue has been built. The new 35-bed hostel includes 25 dedicated units for 16-17 year olds and 10 units for 18-21 year olds. During the rebuild, The Salvation Army continued to have an important presence within the Camberwell area and to deal with enquiries. Of even greater significance was the fact that the Army was able to prepare the wider community and external agencies for the recommencement of the service so that there was no hiatus in the necessary provision.
The Springfield Lifeline During the time of the closure and rebuild of the centre, an interim programme known as Springfield Lifeline was implemented for those affected by the closure. Some of the existing units, which were separate from the main building, were transformed into ‘interim move-on accommodation’. The remaining units are used for training and administration (including an interview and meeting room), a service user IT suite (for job club, skills development and IT training) and an activity facility incorporating a drop-in café, life skills training base, advice and signposting. The Lifeline programme runs from Monday to Saturday, and offers many different activities.An example is a Life Skills programme which follows up a course of sessions started at the main centre and helps empower, enable and
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encourage the residents in all areas of their lives, through a series of modules. On completion of each module a certificate confirming participation in the Life Skills programme is issued to each attendee. Springfield Lodge believes it has been important to maintain the existing relationships built with the service users and external agencies throughout the redevelopment. Breaking through emotional defences to gain the trust of their residents takes time and effort, which the redevelopment may have jeopardised had an interim measure not been put in place. The Lodge was adamant it did not want to see any of its residents falling back into old ways as a result of a weakening of this trust. Happily, the Lifeline Programme ensured that this risk was mitigated – an outcome made possible through the strong support of charitable trusts, foundations and major donors.
Funding Funding for a project like this can appear challenging at the outset. However, in this case securing the shortfall in funding from external funders has proved very successful and enabled Springfield Lodge to continue providing an appropriate support programme.
Marketing and fundraising assistance The Salvation Army’s Fundraising Department was asked to support the development costs of the rebuild at Springfield Lodge and to seek funding to support the interim programme. Springfield Lodge has been one of this Department’s most successful projects, in terms of fundraising and income generation, for the following reasons. • It is the only Salvation Army centre working with such a vulnerable client group in an area with serious gun and knife crime and a significant gang culture; • Springfield Lodge and Springfield Lifeline have changed perceptions of The Salvation Army and the project has made a big impression on funders who would not normally consider supporting our work; • The project has attracted different trusts and foundations and confirmed the relevance of The Salvation Army in today’s world. It would not be an over-emphasis to say that the staff at Springfield Lodge have played a big part in sustaining this support. They are passionate about their work and have had considerable successes. They have demonstrated to funders evidence of lives turned around and solid project outcomes. All this augurs well for the future of the project and its sustainability.
Income to date 19 personal and corporate benefactors have contributed £1,130,770 towards the Springfield Lodge: Redevelopment and Lifeline Intern Programme.
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The Media Office The Media Office works to a planned communications strategy delivering media campaigns to targeted audiences through traditional media and directly using cross-platform content. We bridge the gap between traditional and social media to leave a lasting legacy for The Salvation Army and the people we serve. Bridging the gap: media and legacy The idea of media and a lasting legacy is not an obvious one; yesterday’s news and tomorrow’s chip paper is the old adage. However, as the media and the way in which we consume it has changed, The Salvation Army’s Media Office has adapted to respond. How do we use media to create a legacy rather than chip paper? A legacy is something that has been achieved and that continues to exist. The year 2012 gave us some wonderful opportunities to create a legacy.
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Olympic legacy and The Salvation Army The Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Farm hosted the London 2012 mountain bike events.This was a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the work and mission of The Salvation Army among new, broader and younger audiences. Various pre-game torch-bearing and water distribution events took place around the territory. The media team utilised every opportunity and channel to reach millions of people. The event days saw the territorial leaders interviewed live by BBC Radio from the Hadleigh Farm Tea Rooms. Our report on this event shows that through the media coverage secured, we reached almost 70 million people. The total Advertising Value Equivalent for this coverage would be just under £1 million. Particularly significant was the mention of the work and history of The Salvation Army at Hadleigh Farm made by a BBC commentator in the middle of the women’s race. In an age when most things come with a price tag, it is impossible to buy this sort of third-party endorsement. The mountain bike course will now be open to the public and The Salvation Army will have a stronger presence at Hadleigh. This will enable us to continue the vital work we do with marginalised people in the community.
Legacy of our Founder – 100th anniversary report To mark the 100th anniversary of the death of our Founder, William Booth, and to raise awareness of our continued relevance, we commissioned a YouGov survey to look at the issues facing people today. We used, as a comparison, social problems recorded by William Booth in In Darkest England And The Way Out and asked what concerns people have today. The timing of the report was a strategic move to coincide with the high profile door-to-door ‘Big Collection’ appeal when officers, soldiers and supporters of the Army ask the public to support its social work. The survey showed that families face the same social issues one hundred years on, with concerns about the affordability of basic essentials, the ability to feed their families and the excessive drinking culture prevalent amongst young people. The report shows that through the media coverage secured, we reached 29 million people. The total Advertising Value Equivalent was £260,785. We reached 13,377 directly with digital and social media. Most importantly, the coverage obtained through this anniversary report was a good national and regional spread with quality articles. For the first time we reached the online news market with AOL, MSN and Yahoo News. No coverage was negative or neutral: everything was positive. Clearly, one hundred years on, the Founder’s legacy is still relevant and so is the work and mission of the Salvation Army.
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A legacy to influence – anti-human trafficking In 2011 The Salvation Army secured a contract from the Ministry of Justice to provide support to victims of human trafficking. The Army’s Media Office, as part of a planned strategic communications approach, used its six-monthly briefing to the Ministry of Justice as a hook for news coverage, alongside the specially commissioned YouGov poll. Concentration was on highlighted areas to ‘sellin’ the story to journalists and to move the public debate away from the previous contract, which was just for women, to include male victims. The report revealed that 41% of those helped were males, most of whom were trafficked for labour exploitation. We also saw our first case of a victim being trafficked for organ removal. Both stories dominated UK media coverage. Sky News, BBC News, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, The Independent and the Daily Star all featured our story as did The Guardian, the Daily Express, and the London Evening Standard, both in print and online. The Evening Standard’s political correspondent called the service we provide ‘pioneering’.This story was also featured in almost 150 local and regional newspapers across England and Wales, including the Liverpool Echo, the Birmingham Evening Mail and the Yorkshire Post. LexisNexis, a leading legal information provider, is piloting an insightful and data-driven model to highlight and raise awareness of human trafficking across the world.The Human Trafficking Awareness Index measures trends in the level of awareness, using the volumes of news articles related to the concept of human trafficking each month, in a licensed collection of almost 6000 of the most influential newspapers and other widely read news sources. In the LexisNexis Human Trafficking Awareness Index, The Salvation Army was seen as the media influencer for 2012 in the UK. This excellent feedback positions The Salvation Army to speak with influence on this subject and to be heard by millions of people. We couldn’t ask for a better legacy.
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The Public Affairs Unit The Public Affairs Unit promotes and defends the work of The Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland, both in the political and policy spheres, to achieve greater social justice for the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Social action leads to social justice The Salvation Army is well known for social action, but also has an historic legacy and roots in social justice. The modern-day Army delivers social action for those whose lives it touches by serving their needs. We provide programmes that are funded by a combination of voluntary donations and government contracts. In delivering social action, the Public Affairs Unit maintains relations with central government and with politicians. We need to be able to tell our story to those who make policy so that we can continue to develop, fund our programmes and help the most vulnerable. However there is another imperative at work. What if the issues that caused the need for social action in the first place could be tackled? Would there then be a need for social action?
Is prevention better than cure? Jim Wallis, the Christian political activist, said: ‘Do we want to throw a lifebelt into the lake, or do we want to go upstream and find out what is causing people to fall in?’ He labelled lifebelt-throwing ‘social action’; the process of finding and addressing causes is called ‘social justice’. The Salvation Army works with people who are homeless, providing the largest number of bed spaces per night of any charity in the UK. These service users have been ‘thrown into the lake’ by issues that are ‘upstream’. The job of those seeking ‘social justice’ is to find the cause of society’s ills, not only by providing ‘social action’ but also by seeking justice. There are many issues of injustice in the UK today, each calling for a massive response. Preventing rather than treating society’s ills sounds obvious, but is often considered controversial. It is easy to see what the problems are but much harder to find solutions that are not mired in political controversy or susceptible to vested interests.
Gambling For The Salvation Army, gambling has been a moral issue on which we have spoken out over many years. However, when the Budd Report was published in 1999, followed by the reforming Gambling Bill in 2004, few at the Army realised just how significant would be our voice as a leading opponent of liberalisation.
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Whilst The Salvation Army does not directly provide treatment for problem gamblers, many of the clients at our centres have experience of gambling-related problems. As a church as well as a charity, it is our responsibility to speak out on issues of moral concern. The statistical evidence that a growing number of people in the UK are becoming dependant on gambling is worrying. The Gambling Act 2005 had three main objectives, including ‘protection for children and the vulnerable’, a goal we wholeheartedly support. The Gambling Act became law in 2005 and the Army, working in partnership with the Methodists, Quakers and the Evangelical Alliance, successfully lobbied against the proposed expansion of gambling. In the event, none of the much-feared super casinos was built – although, in our view, the issue of online gambling was never effectively tackled. Following our successful lobbying during the passage of the Bill, The Salvation Army was invited to join the Department of Culture Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Community Liaison Group, now part of the Gambling Commission. We continue to attend meetings with DCMS Ministers and the Gambling Commission and to respond to media requests and government consultations. In late 2011, we submitted evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into the 2005 Gambling Act. In November 2011, as part of the churches’ delegation we gave evidence to the Committee and endured some robust questioning. The full impact of the work we had done would, however, not be evident until 2012.
Betting shops, a risk worth taking? One of the victories won by the churches in 2005 was a change under the Planning Use Classes Order, allowing buildings to be converted to casinos without the need for further planning permission. We objected strongly to the argument that casinos were the same as swimming pools and managed to overturn the new ruling. As we entered 2012, the proliferation of betting shops on our high streets was becoming a real concern. The Gambling Act had been very lax on betting shops, allowing them to turn into mini casinos, with the much more addictive Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (known as FOBT machines or by their classification name B2s) becoming a vital source of profits for the high street betting chains. We asked whether local councils could object to these machines or to increased numbers of betting shops. It seemed they did not have a separate classification; betting shops were the same as banks according to planning law! As a result of this bizarre classification, betting shops appeared to be mushrooming on the high streets of poorer areas, often filling the empty spaces left by shops that had closed down. We were in dire need of the victorious campaigning effort that won us the casino battle.
Meeting Ministers In April 2012 the Minister in charge of planning law, The Rt Hon. Eric Pickles MP, visited a Salvation Army corps in Great Yarmouth to endorse our work in tackling underage drinking through a Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP). We took that opportunity of the Minister’s visit to pass him a letter outlining our concerns over betting shops. We have reiterated our concerns in a recent consultation submission to the government. The churches were praised for campaigning in this area by a self-help group for Gamblers called ‘Grasp’ and a campaign to restrict betting shop expansion called ‘High Streets First’. We have worked closely with both groups ever since.
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Social Justice Network and the power of the media In May 2012, a Social Justice Conference was held to help The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland fulfil its vision to fight for social justice. At the conference, a Social Justice Network was launched to keep the issue alive. As Parliament was winding down before the summer recess, we didn’t expect any major political announcements on gambling. We were caught unawares, however, when the Culture Select Committee decided to publish their long-awaited report on the subject while Parliament was still in session. On first reading it seemed our lobbying had failed; the recommendations seemed biased towards the gambling industry. However, the report actually worked in our favour as the proposals were ridiculed in the national press and were subsequently rejected by the government. A week at the end of July saw representatives from the churches and High Streets First interviewed on Sky News, BBC Radio or quoted in a newspaper almost every day. We were pleased with our campaigning efforts and when on 6 August Channel 4’s Dispatches programme gave a damning indictment of the gambling industry quoting all those who had been involved in the media campaign, joy was unalloyed. The Public Affairs Unit will continue to work with the other church groups and like-minded campaigners to bring social justice to the issue of gambling and to provide help for those whose gambling has spiralled out of control. Where government could regulate better and where powerful industries profit from the pain of the vulnerable, The Salvation Army will be prepared to speak out and reach out.
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The Publishing Department The Publishing Department, managed by the Editor-in-Chief/Publishing Secretary, comprises an Editorial Unit, Literary Unit and Print and Design Unit. It is responsible for producing Salvationist, The War Cry and Kids Alive!, books and other printed material. Publishing the good news The Publishing Department at Territorial Headquarters is part of The Salvation Army’s Communications Service. Its responsibilities include producing the weekly publications Salvationist, The War Cry and Kids Alive! In 2012, the Publishing Department marked two significant events – the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 100th anniversary of the Founder William Booth’s final public appearance. The following explains how we marked these significant events.
SalvationiSt
Essential reading for everyone linked to The Salvation Army // www.salvationarmy.org.uk/salvationist 3 November 2012 // No. 1371 // Price 60p
War Cry THE
salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry
What motivates a Mobo nominee?
3 November 2012
Est 1879
No 7089
FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS
3 November 2012
Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 6821
www.salvationarmy.org.uk/kids
Go to the middle for a laugh and a giggle!
20p/25c Page 16
Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman were the first presenters of the words and numbers quiz
WO R PLAY D writes CLAIRE BRINE
Got it? The answer is Countdown – the letters and numbers game which was first broadcast on
Turn to page 3
LIBRARY PHOTO
Pages 12 and 13
CAN you solve this NOWTOCDUN conundrum? If you’re left feeling puzzled, here’s a clue: when arranged in the correct order, the letters make the name of a popular daytime Channel 4 quiz show which this month celebrates its 30th birthday.
New
Courtesy of ITV
TV FAVOURITE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS
WIN!
Series
Alive Alive kids’ kids’ number number 11 Bible Bible story story is... is... KA - p1 - 3 November.indd 1
26/10/2012 13:17
London 2012 ‘Let the Games Begin’ and ‘The Light Has Come’ were titles given to special-editions of Kids Alive! and The War Cry, which were produced to mark the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Available from the start of the Torch Relay in May, the papers were handed out by Salvation Army corps and centres throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland during parades, county shows, beach missions, outdoor meetings and other community events.
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Making music The Army’s Lifehouses throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland provide accommodationbased supported housing. Gwyneth Maycock is a resident at Ty Gobaith Lifehouse in Cardiff, Wales and during her stay has rekindled her passion for the trumpet, gaining several National Open College Network (NOCN) qualifications. v
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The Music Room at Ty Gobaith offers music therapy and an opportunity to express creativity in a non-threatening way. Lessons in music sequencing, guitar and bass are offered through the NOCN programme.
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They were very well received with a total of 85,000 copies of Kids Alive! and nearly 90,000 copies of The War Cry being distributed. Some centres reported handing out thousands of copies.
Portraits: A Month In The Life Of The Salvation Army To demonstrate how William Booth’s mandate to fight injustice is being carried out by the Army in the 21st-century, the Publishing Department decided to produce a coffee-table book. Portraits: A Month In The Life Of The Salvation Army is full of excellent photographs depicting life and ministry around the UK and Republic of Ireland. It contains more than 500 images, most of which were taken by those at the grass roots of the organisation – members, employees, volunteers and service users. We sent invitations to participate in the project to every corps, centre and headquarters department, with the requirement that all photographs be taken during one calendar month – October 2011. While the plan was to produce a substantial volume, it was impossible to predict the number of contributions we would actually receive, the quality of these and whether there would be a good geographical spread. We knew that running out in November and grabbing a few shots to fill in any gaps was not an option. So a professional photographer was commissioned to take pictures in selected corps and centres. He took the first of our ‘portraits’, and we used these to introduce each section of the book. As October 2011 morphed into November, the photos started coming in – and kept on coming. Hundreds and hundreds of images were submitted, with some centres sending one or two photos, some sending a handful and some sending dozens. We eventually decided to divide the book into seven sections - Praise, People, Places, Public, Practical, Partnerships and Possibilities. The challenge was to fit as many photos as possible into these sections while giving the designer enough scope to work with – and making sure the breadth of the territory was represented. In the end, we had so many contributions that Portraits became a 160-page hardcover book, with 85% of the published photos having been taken by those involved in the day-to-day mission and ministry of the Army. It was launched at the event to mark William Booth’s final speech, the ‘I’ll Fight!’ Congress held at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2012. The many images that didn’t make it into the book were incorporated into an iPad exhibition. Also included in the book were endorsements from The Salvation Army’s international leader, General Linda Bond, and from Her Majesty the Queen. The foreword from the Queen was, according to a letter from Buckingham Palace, an ‘exceptional’ thing to happen and the Army is proud and pleased that she honoured us in this way.
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Stories behind the Portraits pictures They say ‘a picture tells a thousand stories’. Well, the pictures in our book will give readers a poignant and tangible testimony to the work of The Salvation Army. If you would like a copy of our book Portraits, please see the details below. For further information please email us at publishing@salvationarmy.org.uk Portraits: A Month in the Life of The Salvation Army is produced by the Publishing Department,Territorial Headquarters (THQ), under the Shield Books imprint. Price £14.95 (plus p&p) – available from the SP&S shop in Tiverton St, London SE1 6BN (behind Territorial Headquarters). Tel 01933 445 445 Email mail_order@sp-s.co.uk Web www.sps-shop.com or www.amazon.co.uk
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Messy Church Many people in the UK no longer have the ‘church-going habit’ so the Army is always looking for new ways to connect with people. At Messy Church, people of all ages can explore faith and worship through celebration, craft work – and food! It’s about helping people see that church can be inclusive and enjoyable, as well as beneficial for their spiritual life.
The Place Next Door At Winton, Bournemouth, the Army runs a community programme that includes a lunch club, hairdressing services and chiropody clinic. Located alongside the Salvation Army hall, ‘The Place Next Door’ is a busy centre with full-time staff and hundreds of volunteers.
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The Schools and Colleges Unit The SCU provides resources for teachers, pupils and students learning about The Salvation Army as part of the school curriculum. This support is also given to Salvation Army churches and centres whose members are invited to make presentations to pupils and groups of children. The resources can be downloaded from our website or accessed by phoning SCU staff at Territorial Headquarters. The Unit is run by two school teachers – one primary and one secondary – whose knowledge of the school curriculum helps keep these resources current. The Salvation Army International Development (UK) is working to restore our world by resourcing, empowering and supporting developing communities to defeat poverty and injustice and to enable them to build a better life and future. A response to child trafficking In the last two years SCU has worked closely with The Salvation Army’s International Development Department (SAID) on a cross-departmental project in Mchinji, Malawi. Here the Army runs a rehabilitation centre for child victims of trafficking, providing counselling and awareness programmes. As part of this project, links have been made with school children in the United Kingdom to encourage discussion about human trafficking. This report from SAID sets out the Army’s response to a modernday form of slavery which sees human beings coerced and sold for commercial exploitation or forced labour.
The bigger picture In many Asian and African countries, parents give their children to a family friend or relative to work in a hotel or as a domestic maid believing they will be looked after and be able to send money home.
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Joseph from Dedza Joseph, aged 15, lives with his mother in Kachere village, Dedza, Malawi. His father died years ago. He was first trafficked to Kasungu, more than 200km away, to herd cattle. His mother said he came back because the payment wasn’t enough, but Joseph says he complained that the work was too hard so his employer brought him back. He was recruited from his village again when his mother let him go with a man to Mozambique. On this occasion, they were intercepted by Salvation Army anti-child trafficking volunteers who knew Joseph but not the man. When asked where he was going with the boy, the man panicked and ran off. Joseph was returned to his mother. The Kachere volunteers arranged for Joseph to go to school. His family was given a goat to generate income and reduce the risk of him being trafficked again. However, Joseph’s mother refused to help him care for the goat so he took it to school and tied it to a tree when he was in class. It seemed that Joseph’s mother
was too busy in the field to look after the goat. The other villagers, when they heard this, were sceptical since they knew that Joseph’s mother had a drink problem and was probably drunk rather than busy. On the death of his father, the family’s assets were looted by the extended family and Joseph and his mum were left with nothing. Happily, local villagers built a new house for them, which was a great help as they struggled to cope with their loss. The overall effect on Joseph, of being trafficked twice, was that he lost out on schooling and had to grow up quickly, without the care and support a child might expect from his family. He is now back at school and still tending the family goat.
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Victor from Lilongwe West
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Twelve year old Victor lived with his parents in Tanga Village, Lilongwe West, Malawi. He came home from gathering vegetables in the family garden one day to find a strange man in the house. His mother told him to go with the man. Victor didn’t want to go but his mother insisted. He was taken to a farm where he was employed to look after two big herds of cattle. He says: ‘I spent the whole day in the field on my own herding cattle and I didn’t even have time to have a bath. I was sometimes, but not always, given just one bowl of maize a day. It was hard work – there were too many cattle for me.’ Whilst Victor benefited greatly from his time at The Salvation Army rescue centre, it was clear that he had been traumatised by his experience. Although he is twelve, his educational level is the same as when he started school. He feels that his parents have neglected and rejected him. Victor is being helped to understand these feelings and come to terms with what has happened to him.
According to the US State Department’s 2012 report ‘human trafficking’ and ‘trafficking in persons’ are umbrella terms for the recruitment, harbouring, transporting, providing or obtaining of persons for compelled labour or commercial sex acts through force, fraud, or coercion. The Palermo Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. It describes compelled service as involuntary servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, debt bondage and forced labour. Trafficking is a crime, the scale of which is huge and global. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), at least 2.4 million people are trafficked at any given time. Yet there are only a few thousand convictions of traffickers a year because most of the victims are not identified and consequently never receive justice. Despite growing awareness and more effective law enforcement responses, trafficking remains a low-risk criminal enterprise with high returns. The ILO estimates that annual profits generated from trafficking in humans can be as high as $32 billion. However, the human cost of these profits is measured in the blighted lives of those sold into exploitative labour.
Forced child labour Many international organisations and national laws recognise children may legally engage in certain forms of work. However, most also agree that the worst forms of child labour, including bonded and forced labour of children, are unacceptable and should be eradicated. If left unaddressed, the trauma and psychological effects of trafficking can undermine victims’ recovery and make them vulnerable to being re-trafficked. Trafficking dehumanises and objectifies victims so their natural sense of power, visibility, dignity and self-esteem is obscured. Traffickers also use coercive tactics and force to make their victims feel worthless and emotionally dependant which can lead to a loss of identity and feelings of insecurity.
Child trafficking in Malawi The Army knows from its work in the Mchinji district of Malawi that children as young as ten are often trafficked to work long hours on farms, as domestic maids or to serve in local bars – which can then lead them into prostitution. In other parts of Malawi, boys are trafficked across the border to Tanzania to work on fishing fleets or to Mozambique or Zambia to work on tobacco plantations. Boys who work on farms tend large herds of cattle alone for 10 hours a day. They may receive one daily meal of maize porridge but are not clothed properly and don’t go to school. They don’t usually get paid either. These children suffer the traumatic effects of rejection and neglect by their parents and the adults who trafficked them. The Salvation Army’s Counselling Centre at Mchinji cares for up to 120 children a year who have been rescued from trafficking. They are looked after in a safe and secure place, fed and clothed, given psycho-social support and rehabilitated as individuals with rights and an identity. For a few months at the centre they will benefit from attending the local school, living in a caring environment, playing with their peers and preparing to be reunited with their family. Some older children will also learn vocational skills such as bike maintenance, tailoring, carpentry and gardening. These skills enable them become productive family members when they return home, reducing the likelihood of their being re-trafficked. Before repatriating children, Centre staff conduct pre-unification visits, counselling parents of the trafficked children on the dangers of trafficking, the rights of the child and the benefits of sending their
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children to school. Our Community Development Officer recruits and supports teams of community volunteers to raise awareness and report cases of children who are suspected of being trafficked. They liaise closely with the Labour, Social Welfare and Education Offices as well as the Victim Support Unit. This approach ensures children are rescued, rehabilitated and reintegrated and that resources are used effectively. In the first half of 2011, 46 boys and two girls were rescued. All went to school and were given counselling. The older children were given vocational training and the children’s parents were advised about the dangers of child trafficking.
Raising awareness in the UK of anti-child trafficking Our child trafficking work is not just confined to Malawi. Working with young people in the UK, we have been helping raise awareness of child trafficking and enabling them to respond to what they have learned. In partnership with the SCU, SAID organised a series of drama workshops at Lyndhurst Primary School in London and a music and media workshop with a Salvation Army youth group in Cumbernauld. At Lyndhurst School the children were asked to put a price on various objects to stimulate debate. When asked to put a price on their teacher they hesitated but eventually decided he was ‘invaluable’. When the Cumbernauld young people did the same exercise, they concluded that we are all priceless. This then became the central theme of their short film and song – including four volunteers posing in the shop window of the Salvation Army shop in Cumbernauld, with their hands tied and bearing price tags. Workshops participants began to understand that whereas traffickers see children and vulnerable adults as cheap labour to be exploited for profit, they had a strong sense of the value of their lives and knew that as humans they are indeed priceless.
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The Video Production Unit The Video Production Unit makes films for the UK Territory and Republic of Ireland, which tell powerful, challenging and inspiring stories about The Salvation Army. A wealth of stories The Video Production Unit (VPU) is responsible for producing films and DVDs for The Salvation Army in the UK Territory and Republic of Ireland. One of the most exciting parts of making films about the work of the Army is visiting inspiring churches and projects all around the world and hearing the stories connected with them. The challenge then is to work out how best to translate those stories into the medium of video.
Generous storytellers With stories come generous storytellers. It’s amazing, and a huge privilege, how people are prepared to share with us often very personal stories of how The Salvation Army has helped them and to trust us to retell those stories truthfully.
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Recording history We’ve been able to make extensive use of The Salvation Army’s archive of films, from those very first flickering images from 1904 and onwards. We’re aware that in years to come video and TV producers will be looking for archive footage of events from the early 21st Century and well-crafted documentaries that stand the test of time. Our films fulfil that role.
Making a difference It’s humbling and encouraging to know that our films can make a difference. A film we made in Haiti raised a quarter of a million dollars in the USA to buy pigs for the poorest families. Another featuring Gloucester House Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre helped provide the funding to keep it open. And we’ve been pleased to provide a series of short films for various Salvation Army appeals across this country.
Celebrating The Salvation Army From the massed bands of the worldwide Salvation Army marching down The Mall to the children
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and young people of a local singing company choir, the music of The Salvation Army is something we regularly feature and celebrate. And we also want to celebrate the characters of The Salvation Army – through short films with quirky cartoons in our ‘Did I Ever Tell You’ series to documentaries about Salvation Army corps and centres.
LINK The main driver and outlet for our films is LINK, our quarterly DVD, which contains three or four short films, a ‘pause for thought’ and a music piece. The existence of LINK means a regular supply of new films is always available. Today, however, most people view our output not on DVD but online – and this can only grow. But whatever the method of distribution our aim will remain the same – to be the territory’s storytellers, exploiting the medium of moving pictures to show how The Salvation Army is making a positive difference in people’s lives in so many different ways in this country and abroad.
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The Communications Service The Salvation Army 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel 020 7367 4500 – Switchboard Web www.salvationarmy.org.uk Lieut-Colonel Marion Drew Secretary for Communications Tel 020 7367 4701 – Direct Line Fax 020 7367 4718 The Salvation Army is a Christian Church and a Registered Charity Registered Charity No. 214779, and in Scotland SC009359 Social Trust: Registered Charity No. 215174, and in Scotland SC037691 Republic of Ireland: Registered Charity No. CHY6399 Produced November 2012
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