Samaritan's Purse

Samaritan's Purse is a Christian relief agency led by Franklin Graham, providing assistance to victims of war, poverty, disease and natural disasters.

How do you help people in my community?

Although most of the work of Samaritan’s Purse is done overseas, we also respond to emergencies across the United States. In 2007, our Disaster Relief Units have been dispatched to Missouri, Georgia, Kansas, and Minnesota, helping hundreds of families—especially the poor, elderly, and uninsured—recover from storms. We continue to be involved in Hurricane Katrina relief and are currently in the process of building new houses for five families in rural Mississippi whose homes were destroyed. We maintain a fleet of tractor-trailer units loaded with emergency supplies and equipment that are ready to roll immediately when disasters strike in the U.S. In recent years, our disaster relief units have worked in 20 states and helped over 14,000 families.

Samaritan's Purse partnered with a local ministry that works in reservations in Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas.  We ministered to Native Americans in southwest Alaska through our support for the Tanalian Bible Camp, which brings children living in isolated, rural villages to the Lake Clark campground for evangelism and discipleship. We also constructed a youth center and completed a rebuilding project for homes destroyed by fire in the Alaskan village of Hooper Bay.

Through our Quality Kids program, we continued our outreach to children in rural Kentucky.  This program sends Christian counselors into public schools to teach hygiene and Bible-based character traits.

Why do you need my support?

The sun never sets on the work of Samaritan's Purse.  Our ministries span the globe, from Sumatra to the Sudan, from Liberia to Siberia, and from Papua New Guinea to New Orleans. 

$45 (or $3.75 per month for a year) will provide a family survival kit with items like a water bucket, a small stove, cooking pots, and even soap.
$3 will provide a needy child with a week's supply of milk.
$6 will provide a warm blanket to a child.
$7 will furnish a week's worth of meals and enable caring Christians to share Jesus Christ with people starving for His love.
$7 will provide a kit with enough seeds to produce a crop of nutritious vegetables.
$10 will provide a Bible or other Gospel materials to a person who hungers for God's truth.
$10 will provide a starter brood of 24 chicks that will grow into a flock of laying hens.
$12 will provide 100 disposable diapers, a dozen cloth diapers or hygiene items to a young mother in a refugee camp or a caregiver at a crowded orphanage.
$15 can furnish a month of education for an eager student.

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

At Samaritan's Purse, our unique ministry involves presenting the needs of God's people to God's people, then trusting the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of those whom He wants to participate in meeting those needs. We believe that all we have comes from God and we give it out of His hand (I Chronicles 29:14b, Dutch paraphrase).

Because the Lord supplies us with resources for ministry through individual donors, we recognize our accountability both to Him and to our donors.  We have a responsibility to be faithful stewards and to maintain integrity and openness in our financial practices. Therefore, we subscribe to a written statement of faith clearly affirming our commitment to the evangelical Christian doctrine.  We are governed by a responsible Board of Directors. Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and obtain an annual audit by an independent public accounting firm, Dixon Hughes, PLCC.  Our Board appoints an audit committee to review the annual audit and report its findings to the Board. We seek to conduct our activities with the highest standards of integrity and to avoid conflicts of interest. We are a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and adhere to their required standards.  Our fund-raising appeals clearly identify the purpose and programs to which donations will be applied, and we ensure that donations are used for the purposes for which they were raised. Contributions to the ministry are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.  We will not operate this ministry with indebtedness that dishonors the cause of Christ and hinders the work of the Gospel. When we make a purchase, we pay the approved invoice within 30 days. We do not intend to use the vendor's money. While we may occasionally borrow funds for capital expenditures, we promptly repay those loans. Out of respect for individuals' privacy, we do not sell or rent our mailing list to other groups wishing to use the names and addresses of our supporters.

Can I Volunteer? How?

There are two main ways to volunteer with Samaritan's Purse in the United States.

1.       Disaster Relief: Samaritan's Purse has mobilized hundreds of volunteers to work with our Disaster Relief Units to help those in greatest need, particularly the poor and elderly. Duties include cleaning out mud and ruined materials; removing fallen trees and debris; and repairing damaged roofs and covering them with weatherproof plastic. For more information go to http://www.samaritan.org/Volunteer_Index.asp.

2.       Operation Christmas Child: Last year, over 7 million shoe box gifts were collected worldwide and we were blessed by 100,000 dedicated volunteers!  Opportunities include joining a group of dedicated volunteers who plan and implement all program-related activities in your area; serve at a collection site at one of our 2,000+ nation wide locations (available in November); inspect and prepare shoe box gifts at one of our six processing centers (available in November and December). For more information go to http://www.samaritan.org/OCC_Volunteer_Index.asp.