In 2023, ministry units across the territory rallied to raise funds toward The Salvation Army’s annual Partners in Mission campaign, which provides essential funding for the Army’s ongoing international ministries. Each year, corps and social services bring their creative ideas to life, encouraging people of all ages to get involved and help reach the territory’s fundraising goal of $2.3 million.

Never Too Young

“Partners in Mission is a way to raise money to help other people in areas that the Army serves,” says 11-year-old Michelle Mailman, a junior soldier at Wetaskiwin Corps, Alta. “It helps us serve other people who don’t have enough money, and in the grand scheme, it helps others know Jesus.” 

Last year, Captains Melissa and Michael Mailman, Michelle’s parents, and community ministries officer and corps officer respectively, put cans out at their corps and encouraged the congregation to take one and get involved in Partners in Mission fundraising. “We had set a goal of at least $1,500. I challenged the congregation to prayerfully take a can and fill it however they wished,” explains Captain Melissa Mailman. “Some people really got creative. We had one woman who liked to bake. So, she would bring her baked goods each week and would put the can out for donations. The church would get excited about what baked goods were going to be there every week.”

Inspired by the creative fundraising ideas, Michelle told her mom that she would also like to help raise money. When asked how much money she wanted to raise, Michelle responded: “What’s the church’s goal? I want to match it.”

Michelle, who enjoys painting and wants to use her talents to help others, decided to paint pictures and sell them to family members and people at church. She also painted rocks and partnered with others, including a woman who made tea towels to sell.

“I felt a tugging at my heart to help,” says Michelle. “People at church were very supportive.They bought things. I also got to run the canteen for a movie night at the church to help raise money, too.”

Michelle also spoke to the principal at her school about Partners in Mission and brought a can to school where her friends contributed. By the end of her fundraiser, Michelle had surpassed the church’s goal, raising more than $1,800 by herself.

“This year, I am thinking about trying to beat what I did last year,” says Michelle, who was presented with the territorial youth leadership award at the INSPIRE Congress in July 2023 for her initiative.

“Michelle has a beautiful heart. Watching her serve has really strengthened my own faith, and it is such a good reminder that the responsibility doesn’t all have to fall on the corps officer,” says Captain Mailman. “Even our young people are very capable. It’s nice to know that the future of The Salvation Army is in good hands because of kids like that.”

Captain Mailman encourages older generations to keep praising the efforts of the young people in their corps. “Give them every opportunity to serve in all areas because when you give them that opportunity, that’s where they will explore their passion,” she says. “Encourage your younger generations. Listen to them and keep giving them a chance to practise their faith in a safe space.” 

Tower of Toonies

In their first year appointed as corps officers at Trinity Bay South Corps, N.L., Majors Rene and Wanda Loveless were curious to see what their congregation could accomplish for Partners in Mission.

“In the past, we hadn’t been able to reach our target, so we wanted to build something different and fun. We’d been raising money throughout the year for Partners in Mission, but we needed something that would put us over the top,” says Major Rene Loveless, who set out to raise a total of $12,000.

After talking it over, Majors Loveless decided on a fundraiser that would reach out to the congregants and allow them to participate by bringing in an offering in a new way, working together toward a fun goal. 

“I spoke to a man in our corps who built us a tower big enough to hold 1,000 toonies, which would raise $2,000 extra for Partners in Mission. We called it ‘Tower of Toonies.’ The children got involved and would come on Sunday mornings with their bags of toonies, and they built up this tower until it was overflowing,” says Major Loveless, who promised the congregation that if they could accomplish this goal together, a few notable members of the corps would agree to have their beards dyed a bright colour during an afternoon celebration.

“You could see the tower getting higher every Sunday, and the people were determined to get it to the top and that those beards were going to get coloured,” says Major Loveless.

Children, parents and seniors in the corps enjoyed walking up to drop their toonies into the tower each Sunday. At the end of the six-week campaign, Trinity Bay South had exceeded their initial goal, raising a total of $14,000 for Partners in Mission, of which $3,000 were toonies.

“It was an exciting event,” says Major Loveless, who anticipates another great fundraiser in 2024. “I want to do a similar concept again this year, but maybe a bit more extreme.”