Cardinal

Academy Offers Educational Path for Young Parents

By Karen Gleason Story originally reported in Caring Magazine

Rebecca Arnold was on track to complete high school in her hometown of Marsing, Idaho, and go on to college.

Late in her junior year, however, life took an unexpected turn. She was pregnant. Although she wanted to leave school right away, her mother convinced her to finish that year, leaving her just one year shy of her diploma. She gave birth to her son, Deklyn, in December 2018, at age 17.

Arnold didn’t want to wait to get her diploma. She began working on her GED and passed the English test, but afterward she said she psyched herself out. The GED route wasn’t working for her. Then, she heard about Cardinal Academy from a friend who found it on Facebook.

Located on The Salvation Army Booth Campus in Boise, Idaho, Cardinal Academy is a cost-free charter school for pregnant and parenting young people—women and men—ages 14 to 21. The Salvation Army Booth Program for Young Parents partners with the school, providing wrap-around services, including on-site childcare; personalized support and counseling; free breakfast and lunch; food pantry; prenatal, parenting and life skills classes; and an incentive store. The store stocks items parents might need and accepts payment with “Booth bucks,” which students earn by showing up for class and participating in group exercises.

According to the CDC, about 50 percent of teen mothers earn a high school diploma by age 22. The Salvation Army has a long history of helping women in difficult circumstances. In Boise, it has served young parents for more than 100 years, in its earliest years with the Booth Memorial Hospital for young parents. The program has evolved over time to meet current needs.

“We had so much help between the staff and The Salvation Army…and the teachers were very understanding—they weren’t just teachers,” she said. “They were there to support you and push you and [let you] know you’re not alone.”

“The Salvation Army is there for them. There’s always help. There’s always hope.”

The Salvation Army celebrates 100 years of service in Klamath Falls, OR

“We need good people to do good things every day,” Hudson said, as reported by the Herald and News. “As people of faith we should be leading the way to help with the marginalized, to help them with their acceptance…People today need hope and we must love people as they are…Let’s do something good together.”

“We are the largest pantry in Klamath County,” Leighton said. “We also serve several Northern California communities, due to the long distance for them to obtain assistance in their own state.”

Today The Salvation Army in Klamath County is “doing good” as a service centeroperating within the Cascade Division’s Service Extension Department. The center runs a shopping-style food pantry three days a week. From June through September, it holds a produce giveaway every Friday, reaching 150 to 300 people with more than 300,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables, according to Service Center Coordinator Debi Leighton. Additionally, the center provides bus passes, rent and utility assistance, camp opportunities for children, and Christmas food boxes and children’s toys.

The Salvation Army first settled in Klamath Falls in 1921, maintaining a corps until 2005, when it closed the corps but continued its social services and thrift store. During its years as a service center, it’s moved several times, but Leighton said it has finally found its “forever home.”

The Salvation Army in Klamath Falls (Oregon), held its 100-year anniversary celebration May 21 at the local Harbor Isles Golf Course. A substantial group of volunteers, providers, staff and board members gathered under a large tent for the festivities, which included music by a Salvation Army brass band ensemble. Retired USA national leaders, Commissioners David and Sharron Hudson, participated- recalling their time there as corps officers from 1976–1980, in their first appointment as Salvation Army officers.

After Sharron Hudson prayed for the celebration and for the Klamath Falls community, David Hudson spoke. “As we drove back to Klamath Falls, we were overwhelmed with nostalgia,” Hudson said, according to the Klamath Falls Herald and News.

Leighton herself has a long history with the Klamath Falls Salvation Army—40 years. During the celebration, Cascade Divisional Commander Major Nancy Dihle recognized Leighton for her years of dedicated service. Volunteers and board members also received acknowledgement during the event.