FITCHBURG —The Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps was a flurry of activity on Friday afternoon with the announcement of a capital campaign that will provide funding for a brand-new headquarters building.
“We are hoping and praying the donations come,” said longtime Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps Envoy Lynnette Valentine-Warren to the large crowd gathered at 739 Water St. for the special event on May 15 that coincided with National Salvation Army Week.
She reported that over the last couple years they have been able to raise $1.4 million toward the $2 million they are responsible for when it comes to the project, with Salvation Army Massachusetts Division and Territorial Headquarters agreeing to cover the remaining $3 million needed for the $5 million total cost.
“The need has been there much longer,” Valentine-Warren said, noting that they appreciate every single dollar coming in. She said generous donations toward the building project have been coming in and can be made by visiting give.salvationarmy.org/campaign/799813/donate.
The plan for a new 8,000-square-foot building that will provide 50% more space than the current 1950s era facility has been in the making for many years — and everyone involved is excited to see the vision become reality.
“No gift is too small,” Valentine-Warren said.
She detailed a lot of what they do on a daily basis, year-round, to help those in the community such as financial assistance, emergency disaster services, holiday meals and toys, and whole lot more including youth and music programs and a food pantry that regularly feeds upwards of four dozen local families each week.
Valentine-Warren disclosed that she is a “fifth generation Salvationist” and thanked everyone for coming.
She went on to say that without all of their community partners — politicians, leaders, organizations, groups and a legion of dedicated volunteers who are the heartbeat of the nonprofit — none of what they do would be possible.
“Most of all we thank our community,” she said before inviting Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts President Steve Adams up to speak.
“What a great day to be in Fitchburg,” he said, relaying that the Salvation Army “is one of those organizations that holds the community together” and saying that Valentine-Warren and her hardworking crew are always there to help “without hesitation, without condition.”
Adams called Valentine-Warren one of the many “tenacious, creative leaders” in the community and praised the Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps for their “remarkable resilience” when it comes operating out of a building that has long been needed to be replaced.
He noted that the new headquarters will enable them to expand their hours and programs and “their ability to serve” and gave the Salvation Army crew credit for their “refusal to let the limitations of a building limit who they serve.”
“Fitchburg is really ready to build something worthy of who they serve,” Adams said.
Valentine-Warren expressed that the Community Foundation has been a longstanding community partner they can always count on for support and talked about calling Adams at times of “desperation” over the years, especially during the COVID pandemic.
“They are always there for us,” she said of the city-based foundation.
Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps Advisory Board member and Fitchburg City Councilor Amy Green is chairing the capital campaign committee for the building project and said they are looking forward to the beginning of their “new chapter serving this community.”
“We have anticipated this event for a long time,” Green said. “For 53 years we have been of service to our community. We are now ready for our rebirth.”
She also thanked everyone involved in the project’s success story and for their “commitment you have made to this organization and the community some of us call home.”
Paul Gauvin has been the chair of the Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps Advisory Board for decades. He said there have been several times when they thought they were able to get things “underway” with the building project, but something always happened to delay it.
“By end of June we will have what we need to get organized and get things going,” he said before adding that they are hoping to do a groundbreaking next spring and have plans to relocate the Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps headquarters to another place in the city while the building is torn down and the new one is built.
Valentine-Warren asked staff from The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division headquarters in Canton to stand and be recognized along with advisory board members and two volunteers in particular who were present — Jesse, who handles all the food needs, and Debbie, who oversees social services.
They are a fixture as I am,” Valentine-Warren said of the two women before saying to everyone from the Salvation Army Fitchburg Corps team “thank you for all your efforts.”
She talked about how everything they do is in “triplicate,” as they serve not only the residents of Fitchburg but also Leominster and Lunenburg, and how they are always “here to meet the needs of our community.”
Mayor Sam Squailia’s Deputy Chief of Staff Myles Phillips-Wilcox presented Valentine-Warren with a congratulatory citation on behalf of the mayor in honor of National Salvation Army week and the launch of the capital campaign fundraiser.
“These are moments you can reflect and be prideful,” he said.
State Rep. Mike Kushmerek, D-Fitchburg, imparted that it is “great to hear someone like Lynnette speaking from the heart … [and] meeting the needs in our community.”
“You are a one stop shop,” he said of all the services she and her committed crew provide for so many people. “We see the impact you have and your care and compassion. The Salvation Army represents the best of what we are as a community in North Central Massachusetts.”
Help for Community Inc. Director Tammy Arguelles talked about growing up “in the projects” not too far from the Salvation Army building she stood in and admitted that she and her brothers would take clothing from the donation bins and distribute them to people in their neighborhood.
After Arguelles gave her a glass piece with the words “Thank you for being the change” engraved on it, Valentine-Warren stood beside her and told the story of them meeting at a fire when she had been in her role as envoy for just a few months, nearly a dozen years ago now.
“That I could hand over that trust means the world to me,” Arguelles said to her.
“That’s what I’m talking about, community,” Valentine-Warren replied. “Embrace that.”
State Sen. John Cronin’s Constituent Service Director Beth Walsh said she receives “a lot of phone calls from people in need” — and that oftentimes afterwards, her first call “is to Lynnette.” She talked about a family with three children going from hotel to hotel and when she called the Salvation Army for assistance, they came through.
“It was just incredible, the entire family was in tears,” Walsh said.
Valentine-Warren stated that’s what their entire mission is, to serve anyone in the community in need — and that their new headquarters will enable them to continue doing just that and even more.
“We have a building to build. We have a community to take care of,” she said. “Something we will have is a legacy.”
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