Lt. Mike Hanton and Kelly Lt. Hanton, who have served the Elgin area as administrators for the past four years, are transferring to the Kansas and Western Missouri Division. (CREDIT: Salvation Army)

The Salvation Army Elgin Corps, one of the largest direct providers of basic human needs in northern Kane County, will continue to provide summer programs and weekly social and worship services during the transfer of leadership.

Lt. Mike Hanton and Kelly Lt. Hanton, who have served the Elgin area as administrators for the past four years, are transferring to the Kansas and Western Missouri Division as Divisional Youth Secretaries in charge of all youth programs and camps in the two state area.

“We are sad to leave a community that has supported The Salvation Army in amazing ways, both financially and through volunteerism, but we highly commend the new leadership that is replacing us,” Mike Hanton said. “We are grateful for our years as administrators at the Elgin Salvation Army, and we truly appreciate the many community leaders, volunteers, donors, staff, and agency directors that have supported the mission.”

New leadership begins at the end of June with the transfer of Cpt. Xavier Montenegro and Cpt. Heather Montenegro from The Salvation Army College for Officers Training in Chicago to the Elgin Corps Community Center. Both served for six years on staff at CFOT and were heavily involved in the training of new Salvation Army officers.

Xavier Montenegro holds a bachelor’s in psychology and Master of Social Work degrees from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and holds a master’s of Christian Formation from North Park Theological Seminary. Heather Montenegro holds a bachelor’s of social work from the University of Illinois, Chicago.

“We are excited to serve as corps officers (administrators) at the Elgin Corps and look forward to getting to know and becoming part of the community,” Monetnegro said.

All programs and services are located at The Salvation Army, 316 Douglas Ave, Elgin, and include:

• Summer Day Camp in partnership with The Ivy Academy. For registration information, call 224-281-4979 or go online at info@theivyacademy.org.
• Weekly food distribution on Fridays. Families in need should contact Lilibeth or Melissa at 847-741-2304. Volunteers are needed from 7:3- a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday. You can sign up online at salarmyelgin.org.
• Summer camping programs for youth. Contact Hannah for more information at Hannah_reynolds@usc.salvationarmy.org or call her at 847-741-2304.
• Sunday worship and weekday fellowship groups.

To donate in support of these programs, please mail to: The Salvation Army, 316 Douglas Ave, Elgin IL 60120 or donate online at www.salarmyelgin.org. All donations stay local to provide for families and indivduals in need.

For more information, check out the Elgin Salvation Army’s Facebook page @tsaelgin or website at www.salarmyelgin.org.

• FEATURE PHOTO CAPTION: Captains Xavier and Heather Montenegro are new leaders of the Salvation Army Elgin Corps.

About The Salvation Army of Elgin

The Salvation Army has served the Elgin community for over 100 years of dedicated service. The Elgin Corps provides basic human needs such as food, clothing, toiletries, as well as and case management, financial, and spiritual assistance to those in need. The Elgin Corps is located in at 316 S. Douglas Ave. and is part of The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division.

SOURCE: Salvation Army news release