Something as simple as a flat tire can be the difference-maker for people trying to get their lives back on track, causing a spiral leading to loss of work, bills falling behind. The Salvation Army of Waynesboro is marking out a pathway for those who need a hand up to be able to overcome the challenges of daily living.
“The way to a successful future begins with a path. A little footpath turns into a pathway. A pathway of hope. Jesus taught us something about hope. Jesus taught us that that which do unto the least of these, you do to me. Let the Pathway of Hope be Waynesboro,” said Capt. Jason Perdieu, introducing the new Pathway of Hope program that will put focus to assistance offered by The Salvation Army to local residents.
The push is to identify potential barriers, like a flat tire, the need for child care, help catching up on utilities or rent, and planning a path through the challenges to getting people successfully back on their feet.
“We’re not just getting somebody in the door and giving them a little encouragement and sending them on their way. We walk the path right alongside,” Perdieu said at a Sept. 17 community event held at First Baptist Church in Waynesboro.
Perdieu and his wife, Elyshia, have helped lead the local Salvation Army unit on its own Pathway of Hope. Upon their arrival two years ago, they had to work through a $179,000 budget shortfall inherited from a previous administration.
“We’re trying to help other people, but we can’t help ourselves,” Perdieu said at the community event, which was attended by more than 60 people, including donors, volunteers and local government leaders.
“Thanks to you, and thanks to other people in this community, who put us on the right track, forgave the fact that we were in a situation for so many years, you said, Get up, we’re going to take care of you. We’re going to put you on the right track. We can’t thank you enough for that,” Perdieu said.
Retired businessman Tom Reider helped head up the effort of the local Salvation Army’s advisory board to meet the budget shortfall. He recounted at the community event the steps that the board and staff took to get the organization’s finances back on track.
“Now we need to be responsible with how we utilize that money,” Reider said. “We have young officers, and they are inspired and dedicated. We have dedicated, caring staff, and they have lots of connections in the community, and they network with other organizations so that we aren’t duplicating our efforts.”
The First Baptist Church event was in part a celebration of The Salvation Army rebounding from its own recent issues, in part a big thank you to the community, and an equal part signaling the next steps for the organization into the future, said Teresa Gauldin, the chair of the advisory board, and the CEO of Mathers Construction in Waynesboro.
“This year, instead of asking people to donate money, pay for a ticket, have a raffle, we felt it was important to say thank you to the community for what people had already done for us,” Gauldin said. “We wanted to be in the same room with them, talk to them, be able to say, thank you, and here’s a new program we’re launching, but tonight is about you.”
And that is something personal to Perdieu.
“We realize that we get the opportunity to be the catalyst in social services, to be the ones to do the Angel Tree, to be the ones that get represented behind the kettle, but we’re not the ones that are donating. We’re not the ones that are always ringing the bell,” Perdieu said. “If it wasn’t for this community providing the funds, providing the manpower, providing the volunteer hours, none of this would be done, and it wouldn’t be possible.
“Tonight is about simply saying, thank you. It’s a celebration of appreciation to this community that we’re privileged to not only serve in, but we also get to call home,” Perdieu said.
– Story and Videos by Chris Graham
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