The Salvation Army Stands Above All Other Groups
Marty lives in a golfing community in the South these days, but he still
smiles to remember a Salvation Army brass band playing on a cold Dearborn,
Michigan street corner. "They were next to a big kettle that you tossed
your nickels and dimes into."
That boyhood memory may be the reason Marty thought first of The Salvation
Army when it came time to write his Will.
After a demanding career working at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York, he
"wanted to get my affairs in order and one way to do it was to make the
donations I hadn't made all my life."
But Marty wanted to make sure that he'd be doing "something good with my
money." So he researched many charities and was surprised by what he
discovered. "You've got to be careful," he advises, "some charities don't
actually spend most of your contribution the way you'd want - on programs
and services."
His research assured him that The Salvation Army - an organization dedicated
to not only treating the symptoms of poverty, but stopping the cycle of
poverty before it is passed on to the next generation - would always do
that.
Although Marty's immediate neighbors are secure, he knows that beyond the
borders of his retirement community, many people are without adequate food
and shelter, and trying to rebuild their lives through Army rehabilitation
programs and other services. So he designated his gift to go to local Army
programs and serve the people close to home in his county.
Marty had originally planned to make a gift by Will, but after talking with
a local Army representative decided that a charitable gift annuity was a
better way. He could receive life income and support the Army's mission.
Today, talking about his Salvation Army charitable gift annuity, Marty
thinks mostly about the increasing need for social services in the years
ahead. He believes that although the annuity payments are a nice addition
to his retirement income, "It gives me greater satisfaction to know that my
contribution will be well spent."