Judy Chong, a Sugar Land resident, has served on the Greater Houston Salvation Army Command Advisory Board since 1991. She was one of the earliest recruits in Project Blueprint, an initiative by United Way to create diversity on local volunteer boards.

“I was one of their early diversity-type board members,” Chong said.

United Way matched Chong to work with the Salvation Army because she expressed interest in working with youth, the elderly and families within a religious organization.

“Prior to the organization, a lot of my volunteer work was done in the Asian community, and United Way was trying to get minorities to train them to be a part of [United Way] boards,” Chong said.

Through her service on the Salvation Army Advisory Board since 1991 and the Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary, Chong has remained active volunteering within the Houston community. The nonprofit provides other services including several homeless shelters in the Houston area, and Chong helped start Sally’s House shelter for single homeless women in 1999.

“We had a family shelter, Family Residence,” she said. “We had a shelter for men, the Harbor Light, but there was nothing for women.”

Recently, the Salvation Army finished creating a community center to help members of the Houston area’s international community.

“We’re one of the few cities that has an International Corps, and our International Corps is truly diverse,” Chong said.

Chong said she believes the organization genuinely cares about the people it helps.

“I really think the Salvation Army is only thought of [in terms of] the kettle,” Chong said. “And we are so much more.”