The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Christian nonprofit and social-services organisation founded in London in 1865 by the Methodist preacher William Booth and his wife Catherine. Originally called "The Christian Mission", it was renamed in 1878. Its approach has favoured street-based outreach over conventional pulpit ministry, with the stated aim of reaching the poor, homeless, hungry and destitute who were overlooked by traditional churches.

Today the movement operates in more than 100 countries, including the United States, where it runs more than 7,400 centres and serves nearly 28 million people a year. Its work is organised around food assistance, emergency shelter, financial assistance, disaster relief, addiction rehabilitation and community development programmes.

Measured by output, the scale is considerable: more than 183 million meals served annually, over 10 million nights of shelter provided each year and financial assistance reaching more than 1.5 million households. More than 1,000 volunteers joined within a decade of the organisation's founding.

The Salvation Army states that it is motivated by the love of God and committed to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that it meets human needs without discrimination.