THE SALVATION ARMY'S EL CAJON RED SHIELD CENTER OPENS TO SERVE EAST COUNTY

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East County News Service

(October 17, 2019 (El Cajon) -- The Salvation Army of San Diego announces the opening of the newly completed Red Shield Center at 1025 E. Main Street in El Cajon.

Located on the property adjacent to the current El Cajon Corps, the 29,540-square foot facility will offer more opportunity to positively impact the lives of those in need in the East County. The facility will open Saturday November 2nd. There will be a ribbon cutting with dignitaries at 10am. The public is invited to enjoy the space starting at 11:00am with free tours, games and food.

“We are hoping to see even more lives changed as a result of this project,” says El Cajon Corps Captain Sean Kelsey. “We are so blessed to have the support of the community to build such a wonderful facility, and we hope that it will give back to El Cajon ten-fold.”

The new El Cajon Red Shield Community Center will include:

  • New Food Choice Pantry & Social Services Center: Believed to be the first of its kind in East County, this program will give clients an opportunity to select items from pantry shelves, rather than being given a pre-packaged bag of food. This facility will enable the Corps to be the largest provider of emergency food assistance in the East County.
  • Gymnasium – With a limited number of community centers in the area, this space will offer free and affordable health, wellness and sports activities including after-school programs and sports leagues.
  • Meeting space for senior nutrition, youth and fitness classes.
  • Computer lab

The poverty rate for San Diego is 13.9%, while poverty rates for El Cajon are much higher at 24.2%. More than 40,000 people are served by The Salvation Army’s El Cajon Corps each year. In a typical month, The Salvation Army El Cajon Corps, provides 950+ families with food assistance, 300+ families with government commodities and 1400+ lunches to senior citizens. This number is expected to increase significantly with the new community center.

In San Diego alone, the Salvation Army will help more than 3200 families this Christmas with food and toys. Across the country, more than 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a broad array of social services ranging from food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children.


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