While most charities nationwide are cutting services because of the struggling economy, McComb’s Salvation Army chapter has maintained its community outreach programs thanks to a wealthy benefactor from Virginia.
McComb Salvation Army Capt. Rick Boone said Tuesday that the donor has given $165,000 to the local chapter over the last three years.
Boone and the donor, who wished to remain anonymous, are friends. They met 15 years ago in a Norfolk, Va., Bible class.
“The reason I’m bringing it to the community’s attention now is we’re not having to cut back on services like other chapters have,” Boone said. “In fact, we haven’t had to cut back at all. It’s not that we’ve had an abundance of stuff, but we’ve been able to maintain.
“We can only serve if the money is available to us anyway.”
Rick and Darlene Boone’s circuitous route to McComb began in Norfolk. Moves to Washington, D.C., and Greenville followed before they arrived in McComb in 2008.
“(The donor) supports Darlene and me. He supported us while we were in Greenville. For the last three years, he’s been supporting us,” Boone said. “If you saw him on the street, he wouldn’t stand out, but he loves the Lord.”
Boone said he contacted the donor around September when the McComb chapter was having difficulty and Boone requested $15,000. Boone said the request was honored within the week, which also got the local charity though the holidays.
During the holidays, the local Salvation Army raised $105,000 through Red Kettle contributions.
“That (success) inspires him to send even more,” Boone said of the donor. “Whenever we’re making progress, that inspires him. He once sent $100,000 to us in Greenville. I want to let the community know that they can’t forget us. The Salvation Army is more than just Christmas time. We’re always meeting needs.”
Just recently, local Salvation Army officials dispatched a mobile canteen and other services to Hattiesburg following the destructive Feb. 10 tornado there.
The six-figure donation isn’t the first for the local Salvation Army — or even the biggest.
The organization received a sizable donation from the $1.8 million estate of Thomas Riley Brumfield in 2010 when the former locomotive engineer bequeathed it $400,000.
“He was a blessing to the Salvation Army,” Boone said. “Through that donation, we’re getting a clothes baler, a forklift and an extra 1,000 square feet to the family store. That baler is going to generate funds. We’ve got a portable dock coming in at the family store. We’re looking to expand in that area.”
Boone, who turned 60 on Monday, said a long-term vision for McComb is to have a men’s shelter, similar to one in Jackson.
He said the local chapter is always in need of volunteers such as telephone operators, forklift drivers and chaperones who take kids camping.
