Quayle Salutes Salvation Army

Of Marilyn Quayle’s many charitable endeavors, the one she said she cherishes most is the Salvation Army.

“The Army has always been there helping people,” Quayle told a small group of local volunteers and others Tuesday before she toured the Salvation Army’s warehouse facility in Anaheim.

The wife of former vice president Dan Quayle said it is the officers, their families and the volunteers who make the Salvation Army a special organization: “They’re the most selfless people I’ve come across.”

A former Salvation Army bell ringer when she lived in Indiana, Quayle now serves on the organization’s National Advisory Board and chairs its Disaster Services Committee.

“I get so much out of the Army. They do in the community what we should all be doing in their communities: living by the biblical principles.”

Quayle told local advisory board members that they need to get the message out about the Army’s programs and services aimed at helping people, including the homeless, needy families, troubled youth, seniors and alcohol- and drug-addicted men.

“Nobody knows how much true good the Army does,” Quayle said, adding that it takes active board members to use their contacts “to bring people in.”

Quayle, a lawyer, also said that federal welfare reform will require the Salvation Army to step in.

“It’s the Army that’s going to pick up the pieces--it has always picked up the pieces,” she said.

Quayle’s visit represented how critical volunteers are, said Capt. Lee R. Lescano, the charity’s Orange County coordinator.

“For someone of her stature to spend time with the Salvation Army, it helps other people see that volunteerism is important to the community,” Lescano said.