The Salvation Army Dick and Beverly Davis Corps Community Center purchased a 25-seat shuttle bus thanks to a generous combined donation of $75,000 from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation and The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation.
The new bus will be used to transport children in The Salvation Army’s after-school and youth programs to summer camp, field trips and other unique activities.
“This addition will give children in the programs an opportunity to have experiences they wouldn’t normally get,” says Lt. Brandon Kyle, administrator and pastor of The Salvation Army serving Coachella Valley.
Prior to this purchase, it was difficult to transport the children to off-site activities, resulting in many trips back and forth from the Corps and limited outings for the kids in the programs.
To bring public awareness to The Salvation Army’s youth program and recognize the contributions of the Berger Foundation and Barker Foundation, the new bus has a distinguishing wrap that will make it very recognizable as it rolls through the valley.
“The Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation is honored to be able to help The Salvation Army in their purchase of a dedicated bus to offer transportation to their community center for the youth in our valley,” says President Nancy Harris. “We have supported The Salvation Army for the last 12 years in their community services and world-wide efforts during disasters and praise them for their dedicated services.”
The bus would not have been possible for The Salvation Army to purchase without the matching grant from the two generous foundations.
“We love partnerships that bring people together, and in this case with the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation and The Salvation Army, this new bus is really doing that,” says Catherine Reed, Program Director of the H.N and Frances C. Berger Foundation. “This bus is making it easier for children to access the programs and services offered at the Dick and Beverly Davis Community Center, which means more families will benefit from all that is being offered there.”
Currently, The Salvation Army Dick and Beverly Davis Center has 80 children in their after-school and youth programs. The programs offered include: music classes, Sunday school, indoor soccer league, teen night, open gym and character building classes.
To learn more about youth programs at the Dick and Beverly Davis Center, please go to www.coachellavalley.salvationarmy.org or call the Center at 760-324-2275.