Making a Difference is the Best Reward

Every day, The Salvation Army Center of Hope serves free lunch and dinner to anyone who needs a hot meal.  About 1,000 meals are prepared per day, and volunteers provide support to the kitchen staff at The Center of Hope to help make this process run smoothly.

About seven years ago, Mark and three other staff members from Samson Companies decided to give up their lunch hour once/month to serve hot meals to their less fortunate neighbors in the Tulsa community.  The  news of this opportunity spread throughout the office and other employees wanted to come along.  Today, Samson Companies has 10 teams that each volunteer once/month serving meals at The Center of Hope, along with a team of alternates.

One Samson employee, Christy, started volunteering at The Center of Hope about six months ago, because a coworker invited her to join a team.  Christy says, “It’s rewarding to do something for someone else. Anyone of us could find ourselves in need.”


A volunteer serves others and makes a difference in a community, but it is remarkable how rewarding the experience can be for the volunteer.  Staff members at Samson Companies would not have gotten to experience this reward if Mark would not have taken a step to serve this community seven years ago. Christy discovered what a difference she could make, because a coworker invited her to volunteer. 

This week, we celebrate and honor our volunteers.  We thank our many faithful volunteers who help achieve The Salvation Army mission in the Tulsa area every day. 

If you don’t have a place to volunteer, it’s not too late to get involved.  Volunteer shifts are available to help serve meals at The Center of Hope every day: 12:45-2:15pm or 3:45-5:45pm.  Email Michelle Thomas, Michelle_Thomas@uss.salvationarmy.org, to schedule a shift.

Take a step, invite a friend, and make a difference in our community.

-Michelle Thomas, Volunteer Coordinator