Guam’s Salvation Army has a new Captain.
Hector Acosta joins the Salvation Army following a long flight from Seattle.
PNC’S Althea Engman has more…
Captain Hector Acosta, the newest capstan of the salvation army shares that with the job, you move based on the operational needs, so when he got the call that he was needed, he and his wife hopped on a plane to start a new journey after only being based in Seattle for 2 years.
Acosta gave PNC some behind the scenes on his role with the Guam’s branch.
He said, ” There is a big spectrum of needs being addressed on the island and in the Micronesia and my role is to coordinate those efforts, so I essentially empower the various leaders, the department heads, I have about 7 department heads that report to me and my job is to empower them to do what they do.”
Among those departments include master’s in social work handling complex contracts with Guam, grants that cover multiple things such as social services, covid recovery, rapid rehousing, and nutrition assistance, to name a few.
Captain Acosta ensures that his team is equipped, very informed, and one of the highest caliber directors that he’s had the pleasure of working with.
Moreover, the salvation army plays a role in helping those who are struggling catch up on their bills, along with aiding in different necessities such as food, utilities and rent.
As well as finding the right tools, resources, and programs for people struggling with substance abuse but want to recover.
The Salvation Army is open to anyone who would like to support their organization and cause such as supporting their current Thrift Store in Tumon.
Acosta said, ” You can come by and donate goods, high quality goods that we can use to sell in order to support these ministries, you can come in and purchase goods, so if there’s something you would to purchase for yourself or home.”
He added, “Volunteerism is also a great way to do it, we need hands and feet to make those things possible, we need ideas for fundraising and we need people that are saying hey I’m too busy to go and donate or to volunteer, but let me cut a check, I’ll write a check and I’ll drop it to the salvation army thrift store.”
Although the Salvation Army gets funding from the mainland in order for the Guam Branch to make ends meet, it would only cover about 80% of expenses, said Acosta, he added that they need to offset and cover that gap with their operations here.
Reporting for PNC News
I’m Althea Engman
