Members of the Helping Hands philanthropic group recently gathered at The Salvation Army of Lake County's Hammond-Munster Corps Community Center to donate funds, which will assist programming and services provided by the Salvation Army.

The annual donation by Helping Hands totaled $10,000 and will support families, women and children who are served by The Salvation Army’s three Corps Community Centers of Hammond-Munster, Gary-Merrillville and East Chicago. New toys also were donated by Helping Hands.

Helping Hands was formed in 2002 by civic leaders in Northwest Indiana to raise support for local nonprofits that provided services to children, families and individuals in need.