The Salvation Army's 50-bed Overflow Shelter will not be forced to close today, thanks to an outpouring of support - including an $80,000 challenge grant from the Leon Levine Foundation.

In less than three weeks, donors have given $335,000 to help the shelter stay open, $95,000 more than the campaign's initial goal.

Maj. Todd Hawks of the Salvation Army says even he was surprised how quickly the money came, once word got out in an Observer story on May 10 that the overcrowded Center of Hope would have to turn away new admissions.

That would have left newly homeless women and children with no option but the streets.

"This is an example of how people in Charlotte are not afraid to step up when it comes to basic human needs," said Hawks.

Salvation Army officials opened the Overflow Shelter in September as a temporary fix to overcrowding, using space lent by Caldwell Memorial Presbyterian Church on East Fifth Street. Only single women were admitted, freeing space at the Center of Hope for women with children.

However, the numbers of homeless women and children continued to rise through the winter, forcing the 224-bed Center of Hope to put women and children on the floors of its dining hall at night.

Of late, the center has hosted nearly 340 women and children, indicative of the county's 36 percent jump in homeless families last year.

Center officials came up with a plan to keep the Overflow Shelter open for another year. By then, the Charlotte Rescue Mission and United Family Services are expected to open a shared campus with programs for battered women, and homeless women with addictions. The agencies hope to be operating by the second half of 2012.

The Levine Foundation, which gave money to both those projects, views the Overflow Shelter as another element of support for homeless women and children.

"If it would have closed, it would have been a terrible tragedy for Charlotte and the women and children who need the services," said Tom Lawrence of the foundation. "We thought it was important to keep it going another year."

In addition to the foundation's $80,000 challenge grant, the shelter received $80,000 from Forest Hill Church and a $50,000 combined gift from the congregations of St. Matthew and St. Gabriel churches.

There were also donors who wished to remain anonymous, including some writing checks for as much as $5,000, Hawks said.

Salvation Army officials say the extra money raised could be critical if the projects planned by Charlotte Recue Mission and United Family Services are delayed.

Center of Hope director Deronda Metz says the prospect of closing the doors to new arrivals has been solved for the time being.

"Now, we can focus on getting these women the training they need to find jobs, so they can get out of the shelter," said Metz.