CBS3 Annual Joy of Sharing: How the Salvation Army empowered a former shelter resident
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- CBS3's Annual Joy of Sharing, in partnership with the Salvation Army, is underway. The goal is to make the season brighter for children and their families.
Danielle Gordon worked in an office at the Salvation Army for 10 years. Before working here, she was a resident in their emergency shelter. It's a time she credits with setting her on the right path.
"I wanted to come back to work because of the positive experiences I had while I was residing here and I thought I could share that with the families that are here so they would know this is just a speed bump," Gordon said, "it's not the of the road."
She lived at the shelter on North Broad Street for eight months and then came back to work as their finance clerk. She remembers the jolt that changed her life.
"I remember the day," Gordon said. "It was the day we had the earthquake."
The date was Aug. 23, 2011. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck Virginia. It was felt as far north as Philadelphia and New York City. That's when she had the idea to ask the Salvation Army for a job.
"OK, you can use the earthquake as a form of establishing rapport and then get into what you really called for which is are you guys hiring?" Gordon said.
"I would say Danielle is a great success story," Katie Barnhart, assistant director of Salvation Army, said.
She says it's stories like Danielle's that keep them doing what they're doing.
"A to Z doesn't always look like A to Z," Gordon said. "It looks like A to Q back to B and D and R but eventually you get to where you need to go."
As they start their Joy of Sharing campaign -- collecting holiday gifts for families in need -- they hope you remember every bit helps.
"They saw my potential before I saw it," Gordon said. "Before I came here I was really complacent with my life and coming here and realizing my potential was like, 'OK Danielle, you don't have to stop at that point. You can keep going farther and farther.'"
Gordon is currently finishing up her studies at Temple University. She will begin her full-time job as an audit associate for KPMG in September.