Scottdale woman has high hopes for new Salvation Army center
CONNELLSVILLE — A Salvation Army soldier for 10 years, Mary McKnight is using her experience to bring two communities together for one purpose.
Serving as the director of the newly formed Connellsville-Scottdale Service Center, McKnight is making sure the needy in both communities are being served.
“We try to keep a roof over their head, and we try to keep them with heat in their house,” she said.
McKnight’s relationship with the Salvation Army began when she offered to volunteer at the former unit in Scottdale as a social service secretary.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said. “I felt like I connected well with the people who came in, in need.”
The opportunity eventually blossomed into more permanent positions in Masontown and then Greensburg.
In Greensburg, her role ranged from working in social services to feeding people at the soup kitchen.
“I think when you’re in the Salvation Army, you learn to do whatever it is that’s needed — a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, as I like to say,” she said.
And when the opportunity arose to lead a new office in Connellsville, she applied for the position.
The Salvation Army Service Center in Connellsville, which was previously located in the basement of the Greater Connellsville Area Community Center, merged with Scottdale’s unit on Oct. 1. The jointure occurred after the Salvation Army’s soup kitchen in Connellsville shuttered its doors in September.
“Some people thought that we shut down, that we no longer existed,” McKnight said. “You could pretty much consider us a new Salvation Army — that’s the way I view it.”
The service center, now located at 300 W. Crawford Ave. in Connellsville, provides direct assistance to those in emergency situations, McKnight said.
Direct assistance includes helping people with utility and rent payments, lodging and groceries.
Since Oct. 1, nearly $8,000 has been spent on direct assistance.
The money is raised each year through various fundraisers, namely the Christmas kettle campaign, which begins the day after Thanksgiving.
Although McKnight and her staff had less than two months to prepare for last year’s kettle campaign, the two communities raised a total of $20,540.
Ten percent of the money raised each year is sent to the Salvation Army in Pittsburgh, while 90 percent is spent locally.
“I look for this year to be even better,” she said.
In addition to providing direct assistance, McKnight also ensures that people are well-connected to other local services, including the St. Vincent DePaul Society and Connellsville Community Ministries.
“If they’re in need, we want to make sure they’re signed up with the services that can help them on a month-to-month basis,” she said. “We’re here for emergencies, we’re not meant to help people monthly. We spread that help around.”
A Scottdale resident, McKnight said she already has established contacts in Connellsville, although the community is new to her.
“I absolutely adore Connellsville,” she said. “I enjoy being here. The people are very receptive, and very gracious to the Salvation Army. You can just feel the love.”
She also has recruited 14 businessmen and women from the two communities to volunteer to be on the service center’s first advisory board.
According to McKnight, the board meets once a month to formulate ideas.
“I think they’ve (Salvation Army) done a tremendous amount of good and provide a tremendous amount of assistance,” said Paul Mongell, advisory board secretary. “Part of our role is to assess how well we’re meeting the mission of the organization here locally, and to provide assistance.”
Mongell said the board will also assist in fundraising efforts.
“We’re growing in this office,” McKnight said.
One of McKnight’s goals is to make sure community members know that the Salvation Army is still alive and well. The organization will take part in Connellsville’s Community Yard Sale, which is slated for May 4. McKnight also hopes to send out an appeal during National Salvation Army Week, which is set for April 13-19; hold a kettle campaign in July; provide needy students with back-to-school supplies; and hold a kettle kickoff breakfast in November.
“I sure know that a lot of people over here love the Salvation Army,” she said. “It’s pretty evident. Donors that have a heart for the mission of the Salvation Army — if they can find us and help support us, that’s a huge, huge thing for us.”