ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the annual Christmas season in the United States and many other Western countries, red kettles appear at shopping areas, sporting venues and other places where people gather. The Salvation Army was founded in London, England in 1865 under the leadership of General William Booth, a Methodist minister who was concerned about the effects of rapid urbanisation. The religious orientation of The Salvation Army highlights the major services it provides, and explains the organisational structure. Booth liked the perceived efficiency of a military structure in mobilising forces and addressing emergent human need. When The Salvation Army first came to the United States, it arrived in a country in which Christian social activists had, since before the American Revolution, played significant roles in shaping egalitarian views for the equitable distribution of resources. The backbone of service provision is the delivery of emergency services that have been historically known as 'soup, soap, and salvation'.
