TELLICO VILLAGE, Tenn. — When Cindy Norris first moved to Tellico Village almost three years ago, she knew she wanted to continue pouring into a community she would soon call home.
She had always been something of a volunteer, donating time and resources to various women’s groups and organizations that supported victims of domestic violence, but it was the national organization of The Salvation Army that really caught her attention when she made her way from California to East Tennessee.
While a regular donor regardless of where she lived, the commitment only grew once she saw the need in her backyard.
“The Salvation Army in Loudon County had one member, who retired two years ago,” Norris said. “So in order to keep it up and running, they needed somebody to join, so I joined.
“I’m the only member of The Salvation Army in Loudon County right now.”
HELPING MEET VARIOUS FINANCIAL NEEDS
Currently, the majority of Norris’ work comes through a partnership with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a short-term assistance program that’s overseen by Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Lenoir City.
A lot of the aid provided by St. Vincent and, by extension, Loudon County’s Salvation Army chapter, is through vouchers. … In October, Norris said that they helped roughly 62 individuals meet their utility bill needs, spending over $5000 to do so.
When looking at the past year, that number of needs met jumps to almost 250 people by helping with rent, utility and other various financial struggles.
But Norris said the need currently outweighs the service. With a limited volunteer base, the ability to impact lives drastically shrinks if their one-woman mission leaves town, for any reason. It’s a struggle that’s impacted a number of rural chapters, and one that was propelled by the pandemic that limited participation.
Norris explained that the work can sometimes expand into areas like Roane County or Monroe County, with borders being secondary to the call to action.
The push for more participation wouldn’t just alleviate the workload for Norris, it would open up new doors of opportunity to begin impacting her community in more tangible ways.
Those doors could lead anywhere, Norris said. She began to explain how, with more manpower, things like hygiene bags or food drives, or partnering with groups that extend their utilitarian aid past the bare necessities.
Assistance in the form of auto repair and plumbing issues also arose, with the latter being a current struggle she’s trying to help someone overcome. Norris detailed that, just in the past few weeks, they’ve begun pledging money to an individual who is currently having to make a choice between repairing a bursted pipe, or paying off their standard utility bill.
She said the individual has been living in a home without running water for months now.
“There’s no definitive guidelines, but we try to maximize the number of people we can reach,” Norris said.
‘GIVE WITH JOY’ MONTH
Now, Norris is trying to expand her reach with recruiting. She said she plans to host a more formal informational event at the Tellico Village Library during the start of 2026, and has more avenues for aid in the works in the coming months.
One of the nearest is set to take place in December, as the Loudon County chapter celebrates “Give With Joy Month” throughout December.
The designation is aimed at putting an emphasis on donations, with staples like the Red Kettle available at shops all over the country throughout the holiday season. Other programs include Adopt an Angel, which helps fund gifts for children and seniors, as well as other various volunteer opportunities for meal distribution and charity canvassing.
“It’s such a wonderful organization,” Norris said. “The need is great, and it makes me feel good to be able to function in this capacity in order to help people.
“I would hate to see that disappear … so until there’s some vehicle that could handle taking it completely over, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it.”
Money donated to The Salvation Army through local channels is always promised to stay in the community it was given in. To learn more about how to donate to The Salvation Army here in Loudon County, you can visit https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/tn/loudon/loudon-county-tn-service-unit/ or goodsamloudoncounty.org.
