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| Major Sharon Cupp (right) poses with Salvation Army volunteer Ely Thomas. Photo courtesy of: WordPress.com |
Major Sharon Cupp walks quietly into the community room at the Darby Corps Salvation Army. With a big smile, Cupp approaches a person that is very familiar to her. That person, a lady with black hair, is elated to be in Cupp’s presence.
“Hello Major Sharon,” the lady with black hair said. The lady with black hair wanted to know if Cupp was able to have an in-depth conversation with her. “Hello. I am currently not available right now, but I will be back later on today,” Cupp mentions. Cupp then proceeds to give the lady with black hair a nice, intimate hug.
Shortly thereafter this conversation ended, Cupp encounters another person sitting inside of the community room. Across the table with the lady with black hair, a woman with glasses silently watched as Cupp transitioned from one area of the room to the next.
Cupp, who stopped to talk briefly to the lady with black hair, just waved to the woman with glasses because of lack of time. She responded with a quick wave.
Cupp is not just an ordinary person. Cupp is the commanding officer and ordained minister of Darby Corps, a local Salvation Army Community Center located in Darby, Pa.
Cupp walks into the food pantry room. The food pantry featured vegetables like broccoli and corn. It also contained various non-perishable items that have a long shelf life and do not go bad quickly. Cupp greets a few employees of Darby Corps.
These employees are charged with preparing meals for various times during the week in which Darby Corps offers free lunch to those in local community that can not afford to get food themselves.
“Hi, everybody,” Cupp says. “Hello,” the employees all collectively say.
According to The Salvation Army Greater Philadelphia blog, Darby is severely cripplied by high poverty and little job growth.
Cupp claims that lots of people in Darby take full advantage of the food services that the Salvation Army provides. However, if a person wants to take part in the food pantry, according to Cupp, there is something that they have to do first. “We ask the first-time food pantry applicants to sign up, provide some financial history and a summary of their living situation.”
According to Cupp, this is required because the first-time applicants’ need more assistance at the outset than those that have been in the food pantry program for years.
“We have to make people accountable,” Cupp added. Cupp described how important it is that people should receive the amount of food that they need, not anything more.
The food pantry remains stocked up because of the needs of the community can change throughout the course of the year.
Cupp is a lifetime resident of Pennsylvania. Cupp grew up in Nanticoke, about a two hour drive north of Philadelphia. Cupp’s childhood was not a normal one, to say the least.
Cupp admits that she had a rough upbringing. “My parents are alcoholics and it was a rough Childhood,” Cupp asserts. Cupp also had several siblings that dealt with tough times as well.
During Cupp’s childhood, Cupp had six siblings. Sadly, as Cupp expressed, three of them passed away to drugs and drinking. Currently, Cupp still has three sisters and one brother left that are still living.
Cupp says that having extra toughness is vitale in order to maintain resiliency. “We all must have thick skin,” she explains.
Cupp eventually overcome the tough hardships she faced earlier on in her life. Cupp took courses at the University of Phoenix. She later graduated with an associate's degree in 2015.
Prior to attaining the Salvation Army job in 1992, Cupp worked at a blouse factor in Wilkes Barre, Pa.
When Cupp was first brought on by the Salvation Army, she was already familiar with their work. “I grew up in the Salvation Army basically”, she recollected. Cupp initially went through ministry training.
“We go through two years of ministry”, Cupp quipped. Following the ministry training, Cupp gained skills to become a commanding officer.
Cupp started out as a cadet. Then, through a series of promotions, Cupp moved up the ranks from lieutenant to captain to her current role as major.
Today, Cupp sits in her office patiently waiting for the next event to take place during the day. Cupp still seems to be relaxed, despite the fact that the Salvation Army is about to enter their busiest time of year. Typically, Friday is the one day during the week that Cupp gets off.
Cupp juggles two simultaneous positions as an ordained minister and commanding officer. But Cupp seems to be fine with two separate, but important, responsibilities. “As a pastor, for my sanity, I try to take off one day in the week,” Cupp remarked.
Cupp believes that the end of each year is when the Darby Salvation Army community center receives the largest amount of turnout. “Christmas is a big-time deal for us,” Cupp says.
In December each year, the Salvation Army puts out Red Kettles across the community to raise funds for the Salvation Army itself. In addition, the Red Kettles provides necessary help for families during the holiday season.
The red kettles are typically out and about from December 1 to December 31 every year.
Cupp has been with the Salvation Army in some capacity for almost three decades. “I have been with the Salvation Army for 27 years right now,” Cupp states. In the next few years, Cupp plans to end her time with the Salvation Army.
“I will be retiring in two years,” Cupp replied. Cupp will have worked for the Salvation Army for 29 years when her career is over.
“I work for an organization that provides a great support system,” Cupp says.
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