Founded in London in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth, The Salvation Army has since grown to 14,495 churches and thousands of social service centres across 134 countries worldwide. Originally intended to reach the poor and marginalised not welcome in traditional churches, The Salvation Army’s motto was “soup, soap, and salvation”, and still very much honours this foundation today through it’s extensive network of churches, 58 food banks, and over 530 housing units in New Zealand alone.
Historically, both William and Catherine Booth advocated for equal rights for men and women in ministry, and The Salvation Army played a significant and active role in the Women’s Suffrage movement that led to New Zealand being the first country to give women the vote on 19 September, 1893.
Today The Salvation Army assists over 120,000 people annually in New Zealand by providing food, clothing, budgeting advice, and life skills programs. In addition to these services, it also provides drug and alcohol addiction treatment and supportive housing for people struggling with addictions. Other housing The Salvation Army provides includes emergency housing, and housing for people leaving prison, as well as community reintegration support for them too.
Salvation Army members are colloquially known as ‘Salvos’, or ‘Salvationists’, and their incredible work is driven by their faith and Christian mission to care for the vulnerable in society, following in the example of Jesus by serving the marginalised. The organisation believes in treating everyone with dignity and respect and welcomes anyone regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or background.
