The RNC Comes to the Harbor Light Center
Mitt Romney, Republican delegates volunteer for The Salvation Army during RNC
Mitt Romney paused from his busy Republican National Convention schedule Sept. 2 to volunteer at The Salvation Army's Harbor Light Shelter in downtown Minneapolis. The former Massachusetts governor and former candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential election nomination served eggs, pancakes and bacon to hundreds of Harbor Light residents enrolled in the facility's life skills and rehabilitation programs.
"God bless you for the work you're doing," he told Salvation Army staff and officers at Harbor Light, which provides shelter, hot meals, rehabilitation, counseling and spiritual guidance to hundreds of people every day.
"We were extremely excited to have Mitt Romney volunteer for us and witness firsthand how decisions made at the highest levels of government can create positive, enduring change on the frontlines of poverty, homelessness and addiction," said Envoy Bill Miller, Harbor Light administrator.
On Sept. 3, Republican delegates from Oklahoma volunteered at the West 7th Salvation Army in St. Paul.
Delegate Steve Fair of Duncan, Okla. and about a dozen others painted the walls of the outreach center's cafeteria, which serves breakfast to nearly 300 homeless and low-income individuals every weekday.
"I've always said the best social services agency is The Salvation Army," said Fair, a political activist and syndicated editorial writer. "They spend donations better than anyone - the most bang for the buck."
The West 7th outreach center, located near the Xcel Energy Center and on the edge of the RNC's multi-block security zone, added a lunch program during the week of the convention. Bagged sandwiches, fruit and water were given to homeless people who couldn't access other service providers within the security zone.
The Salvation Army spent six months preparing for the convention. Most of the preparation involved Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS), which collaborated with city, county and state officials about preparedness issues associated with a terrorist attack or other major calamity.
More than 50 EDS volunteers were on call to provide food, hydration and emotional care. Hundreds of cots and mats were gathered for local police and fire departments to use for themselves and in emergency shelters. Emergency equipment such as generators were also made available.
"We were ready to go," said Drew Hasty, Twin Cities EDS director.
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