In times of need
It’s often said that The Salvation Army has a ministry of “presence” – of being there in times of need.
When flooding engulfed Ipswich in 2011, then-corps officer, Major Bruce Dobbie (pictured right with Prime Minister Julia Gillard after receiving an Australia Day medal) coordinated The Salvation Army’s relief efforts in the city. Major Dobbie, his wife Major Margaret Dobbie, and a team of volunteers fed 12,000 victims of the disaster and other emergency services personnel.
“We were going 24/7 and it was a massive team effort,” says Major Dobbie. “We had people coming in at midnight and working through till 6am, and teams of volunteers from all over Queensland and parts of NSW coming to help.”
In 2012, The Salvation Army, in partnership with The Sony Foundation, established the Soundpoint Youth and Community Centre in Goodna, a suburb hard hit by the disaster. The centre offers Salvos Legal, youth and family counselling services, a Housing Rebuilding Project support worker (flood), educational support for those disengaged from mainstream education, activities-based programs, the Meeting Place Café and a Family Store.
