SALISBURY, MD- May 28, 2020

The Salvation Army, Lower Eastern Shore will celebrate National Donut
Day with free donuts at the Family Thrift Store in Salisbury, MD, on Friday, June 5, 2020, starting at
10a.m.. Donuts will be available for the first 200 people.

Beginning in 1917, during World War I, approximately 250 Salvation Army volunteers aided American
Soldiers serving on the front lines in France. Two female Salvation Army officers, Ensign Margaret
Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance had an idea to comfort soldiers with good home cooking using
limited ingredients to fry pastries in their helmets. The pastries were called doughnuts derived from the
term Doughboys a commonly used reference to World War I Infantrymen.

The Salvation Army volunteers were nicknamed “Doughnut Lassies” or “Doughnut Girls”, these women
served countless pastries to grateful soldiers, traversing through the trenches to bring soldiers
doughnuts and coffee. They also made history when they introduced the new pastry to the United
States after the war.

The Salvation Army celebrated the first National Doughnut Day in 1938 in the city of Chicago to honor
Salvation Army “Doughnut Lassies” from Word War I. They began the holiday to raise funds and bring
awareness to the Army’s social service programs during the Great Depression. The doughnut has
become synonymous with The Salvation Army’s social services and continues to be a comfort food
served by The Salvation Army to those in need during times of disaster.

To learn more about The Salvation Army, please visit www.salvationarmymwv.org or give us a call at 410-749-7771 ext. 100.

About The Salvation Army
Since 1865, The Salvation Army has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and worked to meet human
needs in his name without discrimination. Today, The Salvation Army serves in every state in the United
States and more than 130 countries throughout the world. The Salvation Army has many programs that
address social concerns in our community, which include utility and rent assistance, nutrition services,
Christmas assistance, worship, disaster relief, and youth programming.