Two Full-time Volunteers for The Price Of One
"God wants you to ask for help when you need it. That’s why we’re here."In Brown County, Indiana, Denise Loomis is “Miss Salvation Army.” That is because several vital ministries available through the division’s service unit there would not be possible were it not for this “full-time volunteer.”
This Salvation Army unit is further blessed by the addition of a second full-time worker, Denise’s husband, Dan—who does maintenance and repairs for the property in order for her ministries to keep humming.
“He can fix anything,” Denise says of Dan. “People call him ‘Dan Do-all.’”
Denise and Dan came north from Florida 12 years ago. They settled near family in Nashville, Indiana, the county seat for Brown County. Both are well-versed in the food industry, and they decided to open a restaurant. For a time, their place was the only one in town with an all-day breakfast menu.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the financial backing needed for a restaurant, and we had to close it,” Denise says. Known as a very active and diligent person all her life, Denise soon found herself “at my wits’ end with nothing to do!”
Her nieces were attending church services at The Salvation Army. Although the ministry in Brown County is technically a service unit, regular corps activities are conducted there under the direction of Captains Vinal and Brenna Lee, who also serve as leaders of the nearby Bloomington Corps.
“We walked in that first Sunday, and from that moment, we felt wanted and accepted—and we never left,” Denise says, beaming. She has been a soldier there for more than 10 years now.
As pressing as finding a place to worship was, Denise was desperate for something to occupy her time. So, she began volunteering in the food pantry and social services office.
“The lady that was running [the office] developed health issues, and so I took over.”
During this past decade the Army’s Brown County Service Unit has become strongly supported and loved by the community, she reports. Church groups and civic clubs are working with her to provide donations of both finances and items for distribution.
“We all work so well together,” Denise says of her network. “The Salvation Army has a great reputation here. We are a small community, but we are strong!”
Denise finds herself so busy that she admits she doesn’t have much time to socialize—of course there are the scores of families in Brown County that receive her motherly care each week.
And you can be sure that Dan is nearby, as faithful as she is, doing whatever upkeep and repairs are needed.
Both are accomplished cooks, and they were soon tapped by youth leader Tina Higgins and then former leader Major Nancy Mead to provide hot meals for a student ministry every Thursday evening.
“Dan is always there cooking beside me because he is the only one who knows how I move through the kitchen!”
Up to 40 junior high and high school students arrive after classes on Thursday afternoons and enjoy a healthy hot meal prepared by Denise and Dan.
“Of course, they love hamburgers and hot dogs,” Denise admits, “but I try to come up with healthy meals for them because that might be one of the few hot dinners they get during the week.”
Always on the lookout for great ideas, Denise recently came out with a menu that includes chopsticks and little white take-home boxes.
“They didn’t know what to make of it at first,” Denise says, laughing, “but one of the girls came up to me after and said, ‘That was the best meal so far this year!’”
“I love to feed people; that’s my mission. I cook with my husband, and we’ve been doing this for a long time.”
Otherwise, during the week, the ministry of the food pantry and social services go on. A huge amount of work goes into keeping the pantry stocked, as well as providing soft drinks and groceries needed for the student ministry meals. Donations from around town help and some items are bought online, but a large part of the necessary staples are obtained from the food bank in Bloomington.
“We buy food from the bank for about 19 cents a pound.” But that particular week, she and Dan were able to get 160 pounds of food at no cost.
Raised as a Catholic through high school, Denise was well-established in the gospel. Still, she calls her introduction to The Salvation Army “an epiphany” on that first Sunday morning they came to the corps worship service.
“We knew the Lord was present here.”
Denise says she loves other corps programs and divisional events, such as women’s ministries, and retreats such as family camp. She also loves meeting Salvationists from other divisions and throughout the Central Territory.
“Everybody is so welcoming wherever we go. Being with other Salvationists is so uplifting. I never feel like I’m in a group of strangers, and the fellowship is so great!”
She is convinced the Lord has sustained her this long in her life to serve in this way—despite not receiving financial compensation for her (and Dan’s) constant work.
“I am a survivor of breast cancer and as a child, I came through a form of epilepsy. But the Lord brought me through all that and more for me to serve Him and others in this way. I tell people that I quit working so that I could become a full-time volunteer!”
In her role as caseworker, Denise senses the uneasy feeling her families seem to express in asking for help.
“I tell them, ‘God wants you to ask for help when you need it. That’s why we’re here. We are here to help you. That’s what we do! And everybody who goes to this church feels the same way!’”