The Do Gooders Podcast

Welcome to this special presentation of "Army of Stars," a radio program that captured the spirit of giving during the golden age of radio. From the 1930s through the 1990s, this series brought together some of entertainment's brightest stars in support of The Salvation Army's mission. And today, we're traveling back to December 25, 1949, for a particularly memorable Christmas broadcast. Hear from...

As you well know, Christmas is a time like no other in The Salvation Army.  There's the red kettles, the Angel Trees, the holiday meals and so much more.  Christmas is a season of giving, which for many of us means showering those we love with gifts. But it's also about giving to those most in need.  And in Juneau, Alaska, board members, donors and volunteers help to make sure inmates at Lemon Cre...

When we think about Christmas, we often think about love—love that came to Earth as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, and love that compels us to give freely to those around us. And today, we're exploring how The Salvation Army is brightening the holidays by sharing that love across the Western United States. EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more. BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series . JOIN THE...

Everything feels a bit more whimsical this time of year. And maybe you're after a little more of it? As bestselling author Bob Goff will tell you, we can't catch what we don't chase. Which is why he's out with a new devotional next week called " Catching Whimsy: 365 Days of Possibility ." In it, he offers daily thoughts to help you chase after a more meaningful life, experience a more engaged fait...

Chances are, if you've been online at some point over the past decade, you've probably watched a TED Talk. You know the format—world-renowned speakers, experts and innovators on various topics take center stage to present one great idea in 18 minutes or fewer. TED Talks often challenge conventional thinking and offer new perspectives. They can be inspiring, thought-provoking, and even controversia...

It's no secret having a safe and stable place to live is at the very foundation of overall health and well-being. That's why, in The Salvation Army, there's no such thing as no place to go. We uniquely understand the statistics on those experiencing homelessness—which by the latest counts means tonight in America more than 421,000 people are without a place to call home. We also know that number d...

The Salvation Army has a long history of serving those who have served our country. It all began with donuts and coffee for soldiers during World War I, and it only grew from there. Today, The Salvation Army offers a range of veterans services, providing comfort, support, counseling and a home to thousands of veterans in need each year. Did you know veterans make up 8 percent of the population of...

Hope is what propels us through the uncertainty and chaos of our slumps and our challenges.  But in our broken, imperfect world, a lot of people are finding their peace is constantly under threat, and because of that, it's harder to experience genuine hope for the future. Irwyn Ince is a pastor, author and coordinator of Mission to North America for the Presbyterian Church in America. In his new b...

Have you noticed our culture tends to treat cynicism as though it's the price of being right? But cynicism is a contagion infecting our society—creeping into every corner of our lives, corroding our connections and obscuring our hope for a brighter tomorrow. That's according to Stanford Psychologist and Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Jamil Zaki. Dr. Zaki is the author of a n...

Today we're focusing on a topic that hits close to home for many families across the country: food insecurity. With rising prices, the struggle to put food on the table has become a reality for more and more people in recent years. And many people are turning to charitable food resources to make ends meet. That's where organizations like The Salvation Army come in. In the western U.S. alone, The S...

I'm always paying attention to what's going on in the lives of our listeners—you—and I guess I've spotted this idea because I am you. A lot of people with hope for a better world let it end there. Why is that? You're here so I know you're one of the hopefuls, someone who knows where there's movement there's hope—and you're willing to do something. You want to see your community, your family, your...

Last week, we celebrated a major milestone— our 200th episode ! We replayed the very first episode, an interview with our good friends, now retired Commissioners Dave and Sharron Hudson. And yes, I interjected my thoughts about what's changed and what's stayed the same in the years since. We've shared so many powerful stories and meaningful conversations with you, and today, we're looking back at...

Welcome to the 200th episode of The Do Gooders Podcast. It feels wild to say that. Over some five years, I have interviewed hundreds of authors, academics, experts, people doing the work and people whose lives have been transformed by it.   They've brought so many good ideas and new ways to think about this goal of ours to keep on doing good.   I wanted this episode, number 200, to be a special on...

The Do Gooders Podcast is back with a fresh batch of inspirational stories just for you. Tune in on September 30. ABOUT THE SHOW If you care about making an impact for good then the Do Gooders Podcast from The Salvation Army's Caring Magazine is the show for you. Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Christin Thieme, listen in for real-life inspiration, expert insight, evidence of transformation happening in...

We're back with our final highlight episode from the 2024 Testify Congress. Yes, last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people. And The Salvation Army's international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner B...

We're back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And the sessions featured, you guessed it, testimonies from programs and ministries of The Salvation Army ac...

We're back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people. And The Salvation Army's international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham...

We're back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And the sessions featured, you guessed it, testimonies from programs and ministries of The Salvation Army ac...

We're back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. Last month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And The Salvation Army's international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingha...

We're back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. This month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And the sessions featured, you guessed it, testimonies from programs and ministries of The Salvation Army ac...

We're back with more highlights from the 2024 Testify Congress. This month, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people.  And The Salvation Army's international leaders, General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingha...

This past weekend, in Pasadena, California, The Salvation Army from around the Western Territory joined for an event focused on teaching, training and motivating Salvationists to tell the story of Jesus more often and to more people—the 2024 Testify Congress. The annual celebration includes the commencement, commissioning, ordination and appointment of cadets as they've completed two years of trai...

No one expects to evacuate from their home in the middle of the night, wading through chest-deep water to find a way out of an emergency. We just don't think it'll happen to us. But for Shamrock Steele and her husband, Dave Lanphear, it did. Shamrock and Dave survived the Skagit floods in November 2021. They made it out in the middle of the night, in their pajamas, with their young grandkids and p...

We've said it before: The Salvation Army's disaster relief operation never sleeps. Perhaps that could not be more true than in the case of Envoy Kevin Nagasaki who is in-charge of the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps in Maui, Hawaii. You'll remember last August, the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps burned along with historic Lahaina town in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. For Envoy Nagasaki, t...

Building resilience is a lengthy process, but it's an investment that pays off. By focusing on preparedness, mitigation and adaptation, more communities can ensure that they too build and sustain resilience after a natural disaster. Todd De Voe is a true authority on all things resilience and emergency management. Todd is the Editor in Chief of The Emergency Management Network newsletter, a publis...