The Big Connection: Making local connections

People across the UK and Ireland Territory share how they are raising funds for The Salvation Army through the Big Connection.

Gosport

Fundraising activity: Collection boxes in shops
It supports: The Salvation Army’s work

What do you do?

I go out and distribute the red collection boxes we use in convenience stores across Gosport and Fareham. I then collect them up and arrange for people to come and count the money raised. We have about 30 boxes across a 15-mile radius. I try and collect them every four months, and I know that certain ones fill up sooner than that! We count the money three times a year, with a team of people who might not be involved with other activities. I also get a couple of people from the gym to help and let them see that The Salvation Army is open with its collecting and it’s all done straightforwardly.

I also take the change to some of the shops to exchange back for notes – it can be heavy carrying lots of coins! – so they don’t have to pay the bank for supplying change and it’s easier for our treasurer to deposit the funds in the bank.

Why do you do it?

I’ve been doing it about five years. It started because we couldn’t go round fundraising door-to-door, and I thought it would be a good way of meeting up with the public.

In some shops, they also now collect food for us that we use in our food bank. We get thousands of pounds of food given to us over a year!

It really is amazing, the generosity of the public, that they support The Salvation Army in this way. All our funds go towards the wider Big Connection, to enable The Salvation Army to do its work of helping people.

What connections have you made?

Some of the people who help with the counting come from our Walking Football group, which uses the turf space outside at Gosport. We just try and involve people in the community and encourage them to worship.

I’ve now got a good relationship with the shops and, at Easter time, we also get a lot of Easter eggs donated. That enables me to go around the neighbourhood, door to door, and invite people to the Easter service. This year, six people came out of that ministry!

What would you say to someone who’s never tried fundraising?

The charity boxes enabled me to build up a relationship with the shopkeepers and the managers and from there I was able to encourage food to be given. So I’d start there. It can be something small – it doesn’t have to be something big. God honours what we do, and doing things opens up doors. God wants us to be outside in connection with people!

Mick Macaulay

Harlesden

Fundraising activity: Laps of our local park
It supports: New missional activities

What did you do?

After the success of our Roundwood 100 in 2025, when we collectively completed 100 laps of our local park, we set a target of 200 laps for 2026! Between us, we walked, ran or cycled our way round, covering 200km. We surpassed our target in two hours and raised more than £600 for the Big Connection.

Why did you do it?

Being out in the park enabled us to have great conversations with people in the community about who we are as a church and share our plans for the future. With our building project due to conclude this autumn, we are excited to use the funds raised for new activities in our renovated building in the coming months.

Lieutenant Sophie Borrett

Chelmsford

Fundraising activity: Carolling
It supports: The Salvation Army’s work

What do you do?

The annual appeal has always been given prominence in our corps calendar, with the normal programme being suspended to allow everyone to participate in the project. However, around 2015 it was recognised that door-to-door collecting wasn’t working anymore in the city and a lot of manpower was being used for very little return. Although it was acknowledged that this method of fundraising isn’t solely about income generation, it was thought that new methods needed to be considered.

We regularly and successfully do Christmas carolling and it was decided that some additional carolling would be planned and the income collected on one planned day would go directly to the appeal. A member of the corps took on the project and Network Rail was approached to see if carolling would be permitted on the forecourt of one of its stations.

From this first approach things have evolved annually. The corps play carols from 7am to 7pm on one weekday in December. The 12-hour period is covered by three shifts of both players and collectors; with two bands working in tandem to ensure that there is constant music being played. The band is enhanced by other local players who are happy to give up time to help the cause, and collectors are recruited from both inside and outside the corps. This is a big project and planning starts in January ready for December!

Why do you do it?

It’s a long, long day for those involved but blessings abound as passers-by are moved to tears, share their stories of loved ones and happy memories of home. Hearts are moved, seeds of the gospel are sown, and the generosity shown through the collecting box is passed on to those in need within our community. Win-win!

Major Kathy Versfeld

Sheffield Hillsborough

Fundraising activity: Sell the War Cry
It supports: Social work in Sheffield

What do you do?

We have mainly used funds raised through selling the War Cry. We also have a street collection in early October. We can make weekly donations because we do not rely on income from selling papers to run the corps. The corps also rents space in another church so does not have ongoing and regular charges as other corps might have. We intend the funds to go to local social service work if possible. This would be Sheffield-based centres, such as Charter Row Lifehouse and Lincoln Court.

What connections have you made?

Our seller has some excellent contacts and prays regularly with people when asked to.

Why do people give to the Army?

Local people are very generous towards the Army. We believe that members of the public give to the Army because they are aware of the greater work that is done, beyond the local corps, especially its social work.

Lieut-Colonel Goff Payne

Belfast Sydenham

Fundraising activity: Donations and collections
It supports: Social work in Northern Ireland

What do you do?

Other than one supermarket collection which we do in the run up to Christmas, the money we raise comes from donations that we channel into the Big Connection.

Some donations come from schools and other organisations who have supported us with significant amounts over the past few years.

Why do people give to the Army?

If a corps has a good standing in the community, it’s natural that there will be a response in terms of giving. The Salvation Army in Northern Ireland has also run the Christmas Family Appeal for many years and it is well known and appreciated, so we reap the benefits of that reputation.

All our Big Connection fundraising goes towards supporting Salvation Army social work centres in Northern Ireland.

Major Graham Wood