Author: smgw

360 Degrees of Giving

By Jeff Hale One of the phrases we like to use when we talk about supporting Samaritan Ministry is “our donors generously give their time, talent and treasure.” That has never been more true than in the last year. Since the pandemic arrived, the needs of our community have been extreme, and so has the response of our donors. We’re …

A Pandemic Year in Review: Silver Linings!

By David Wolf To state the obvious, 2020 has been a challenging and tragic year for many.  This is especially true for the many predominantly Black and Brown participants we serve, who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic – not to mention the legacy of systemic racism that came to the front of our collective consciousness through racial violence, …

Pivoting in the Pandemic: Six Months and Beyond!

by Rev. David Wolf, ED You may know that, in several languages, the word for “crisis” is the same word for “opportunity”.  I find this to be a helpful reminder in this pandemic period because, for all the challenges we are facing – in both Samaritan Ministry and the world at large – I continue to see this as a …

Reflections and Hope from the Southeast Office

by Naima Harrison                       America is known as the “land of the free and the home of the brave”, but this is not always the case for many of our Participants and Visitors at Samaritan Ministry. Now, almost more than ever, it seems that division – over COVID-19, over the …

Interning in the Time of COVID

by Abigail Chamblee I began my internship with Samaritan Ministry in the middle of August, and in the middle of a global pandemic. I didn’t come in with many expectations as Covid was very much present at the time of my interview, and although I hoped it would be gone by now, I knew that it could still be causing …

Volunteer Updates

Sy Jones Earlier this month there was a Volunteer meeting with Chris Martin (Operations), Jeff Hale (Development), Jennifer Seager (Program) and I to give the Volunteers the opportunity to express their concerns and understand their requirements for physically returning to the offices during COVID. Ninety nine percent of the Volunteers attended the meeting. Many Volunteers have indicated that their level …

A Story of Bridging a Racial Divide

by Bishop Eugene Sutton July 25, 2020 It was summer of 1971, as I recall.  Four high school guys from Coolidge High School in Washington, DC – including my good friend, the founding director of the Bishop Walker School for Boys, and I – had formed a rock/soul band. We weren’t very good, but what we lacked in talent was more …

Nancy Nesbitt

Nancy Nesbitt graduated from the April-May virtual STRIVE training.  She describes herself as timid and cautious, but she stepped up to take the virtual STRIVE training and landed a job already . . . at a restaurant!  After losing her confidence and a job, Nancy says she finally got up the courage to enroll in the training for the first …

Antoinette Green

Antoinette Green, a native Washingtonian, discovered Samaritan Ministry in 2018 through the Skyland Workforce Center, where she enrlled in our STRIVE job readiness training course. After a challenging and unstable childhood, at age 19 Antoinette became pregnant with her son, Andrew, who is now 3 years old. She graduated from high school two months before Andrew’s birth, but the challenges …