Be part of the #GivingTuesdayNow movement by planning to make a gift on Tuesday, May 5, 2020! All proceeds will help Samaritan continue their services through this pandemic, providing food, shelter and hope to our neighbors in need.
Our annual Tour de Llama event has been postponed to October 17, 2020 at Divine Llama Vineyards.
We know it’s disappointing, but we are looking out for the safety of everyone. We can’t wait to see you this fall!
Now through April 7, please vote once a day for Al Jones to receive the People’s Choice Award through HandOn Northwest!
Scroll to Al Jones. Click “vote” once a day through April 7!
The individual or group who receives the most votes will be recognized, along with the traditional category winners that are chosen by the GVSA Selection Committee.
Pictured: Al (front) prays with a group of volunteers at Samaritan in 2010.
Al Jones has been an integral part of Samaritan Ministries since 2006. His service touches every aspect of Samaritan, including the Soup Kitchen that feeds hundreds of people each day, the Samaritan Inn that shelters up to 80 homeless men each night, and the volunteer board that guides the Ministry. Al serves loyally with his church, Mt. Tabor United Methodist, once a month as an overnight shelter volunteer. He also saw the need for more shelter check-in leaders and stepped into that role monthly as well. These two roles totaled 148 hours of service last year. But those hours don’t include the time Al spends serving as the co-chair on our church subcommittee to recruit overnight shelter volunteers; picking up food donations to keep the Soup Kitchen pantry stocked; and serving as the board’s assistant treasurer, completing a 6-year term that runs until 2021. Al is also a member of the Tour de Llama committee (an annual bike ride that raised nearly $37,000 last year.) He also has earned the title “Water-man” because he services all the water stations for the bikers during the ride. He sets up the night before and works 8-10 hours the day of the ride. Al is always just a phone call away no matter what the need may be. One day, we needed help directing traffic for a lunch event. Without hesitation, Al recruited friends and showed up in rain gear to direct traffic in the pouring rain – and a smile never left his face.
The Board of Directors of Samaritan Ministries has named Jan Kelly as the new executive director. Jan will replace long-time director Sonjia Kurosky, who is retiring on June 30.
Jan first joined Samaritan in 2011 as the capital campaign director, leading the effort of raising $4.2 million to transition to the current building. Her leadership as development director since 2012 has led to a $1.3 million annual budget, and she has significantly transformed and grown the Ministry’s annual fundraising events. Jan has overseen and helped grow the efforts of volunteering and marketing, while developing and maintaining core relationships with Samaritan’s supporters. She has been instrumental in budget development, strategic planning and personnel management by serving on the Management Team.
She brings 20 years of non-profit management experience to the role. Prior to her time at Samaritan, Jan served as Associate Director/Director of Development at Second Harvest Food Bank of NWNC and as Alumnae Director at Salem Academy.
With the assistance of Capital Development Services, the search committee, led by Keith Huskins, reviewed approximately 100 different applicants from around the country. The committee prayerfully sought someone that embodies Samaritan’s mission and love for our guests.
Clyde Cash, board chair, commented, “Jan will keep Samaritan Christ-centered, mission-focused and guest-focused. Our leadership team at Samaritan is strong, and we will have a smooth transition over the next two months to make sure Samaritan meets the needs of our guests, especially during the current COVID-19 crisis.”
Please join us in congratulating Jan on her promotion to executive director, which will take effect on July 1, 2020.
We are currently hiring for a development director. More info here.
Tell Us Your Story, Win Everlasting Fame
We’re looking for the funny, inspiring, poignant stories you tell your friends, and each other, about your volunteer experiences at Samaritan. What keeps you coming back? How has being a servant leader touched your heart?
Winner receives our eternal gratitude and the winning entry will be read at Volunteer Appreciation on Sunday, April 26.
· Entries should be 250 words or less (see below examples for ideas)
· Ideas—the guest you can’t forget, the experience that made you glad to be a volunteer, a time that you got back more than you gave.
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Send stories to: Vania Elliott vania.elliott@samaritanforsyth.org
Story contest examples:
“One day in the old building, people were lined up to enter the Soup Kitchen. A car jumped the curb and hit several people in line. One man was thrown out of his wheel chair. I ran outside and saw volunteers kneeling on the sidewalk to comfort the injured.”
Betty Russell, Thursday Soup Kitchen volunteer
“I had the pleasure of volunteering the first day we served lunch in the new Soup Kitchen. The new Soup Kitchen was spacious, bright and inviting. An elderly couple walked up and said, “Two, please,” as if they were entering a fine dining establishment. It truly warmed my heart and reminded me what a special place Samaritan Ministries is.”
Debbie Hunter, Board Member and Volunteer
“We had completed check-in one winter Sunday evening, but one man was still waiting. He didn’t have a single possession. “Up until this morning, I had a wife and a home,” he said. His life, for whatever reason, had suddenly taken a sorrowful turn. I don’t know if the man ever found his way back home, but I know that I was thankful on this night, Samaritan Ministries was there to offer him a safe harbor.”
John Justus, Board Member and Volunteer
The Myrtie Davis Lifetime Volunteer Servant Leadership Award Nomination Form
Nominee’s Information
Name:
Phone: Email:
To nominate an individual, please briefly answer the following questions. You may send a brief email with the below responses to sonjia.kurosky@samaritanforsyth.org, or call Sonjia Kurosky at 336-448-2664 to discuss the nomination. Nominations should be submitted by February 28, 2020.
Nominator
Name:
Phone: Email:
More information about the award:
The Myrtie Davis Lifetime Volunteer Servant Leadership Award
The Myrtie Davis Volunteer Servant Leadership Award was established in 2017 to honor a long-time volunteer for selfless commitment to Samaritan Ministries and our guests. The Award is meant to be an encouragement to all of us to act on the words of Jesus in Matthew 25. The Award should inspire others to give of their time, talents and resources to help the hungry and homeless of our community.
Myrtie Davis began volunteering at Samaritan Ministries in the Soup Kitchen in 1981 and served faithfully on the Monday team for over 20 years. The inspiration for her service comes from Jesus. She always puts Samaritan’s guests first, serving with humility and empathy. She is known throughout the community as an intentional listener and prayer partner. Everything she does points to Christ. As a Soup Kitchen volunteer, Myrtie often filled the building with music. She was known to identify needs of mothers and children in the Soup Kitchen and return with those items the following week. Myrtie began volunteering to help homeless people when downtown churches opened their doors as shelters in the 1980s. When those churches founded Samaritan Inn in 1988, Myrtie continued her involvement. She joins volunteers from First Presbyterian through the overflow shelter and at Samaritan Inn multiple times a year. She is beloved by Samaritan guests, volunteers and staff.
Matthew 25:35-40 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you.’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ ”
Criteria
The individual will have a long history of volunteering at Samaritan through the Soup Kitchen, Shelter or other programs. It is preferred that the volunteer will have served for 10 or more years. Consideration will be given to those who display multiple characteristics of a servant leader, including: viewing service to Samaritan as a calling,
serving with humility, valuing Samaritan guests as children of God, showing empathy, being a good listener, and mentoring and encouraging others to volunteer.
Selection Process
A brief nomination form should be completed and submitted to the Executive Director by February 28, 2020. The Executive Director will make the selection in consultation with the management team. The award will be presented at the annual volunteer recognition event in April or at another appropriate event/location.
Homeless and afraid, Mark Ward, 57, trekked 70 miles to find help at Samaritan Ministries. He hiked through the woods, drank from creek beds, ate whatever he could scavenge and slept in barns at night. It was an exhausting journey, but he made it. And he wants others to make it, too.
Ward, like nearly 20 million Americans, suffers from a substance use disorder. Only 1 in 10 receive treatment to support their recovery.
Novant Health partners with Samaritan Ministries in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to help combat the nationwide problem of alcohol and opioid misuse and dependency.
The mission of Samaritan Ministries is to provide “food, shelter and hope through Christian love.” The organization does this through its soup kitchen, which serves about 350 meals a day, its shelter, which houses up to 80 homeless men each night, and its Project Cornerstone program, designed to help men recover from substance dependency.
Over the years, Ward, a native of Elkin, North Carolina, worked as a farmer, professional mover, electrician and mechanic. But things changed after he lost his job four years ago and became dependent on alcohol and marijuana. Eventually, he became homeless.
Then a woman he was moving furniture for recommended that he find help at Samaritan Ministries. Ward enrolled in Project Cornerstone and it changed his life.
Established in 1995, Project Cornerstone is a residential long-term substance misuse recovery program for homeless men. Samaritan Ministries can accommodate up to 10 men who live on-site and receive individual and group counseling over a 13- to 18-month period. The goal: Remove barriers for housing through stabilization of physical and mental health.
Ward is halfway through his program. He’s been sober for six months and recently landed a job cleaning dorms at Wake Forest University. Now back on his feet, he thought the worst part was behind him. That was until he was diagnosed with cancer in August 2019. Disheartened but not without faith, Ward is committed to the fight and he appreciates your prayers.
“Project Cornerstone saved my life,” he said. “I didn’t walk 70 miles only to lose to cancer. After I beat this thing, I want to come back here and volunteer like my friend, David.”
Before his stay at Project Cornerstone, David Loman, 49, had dreams of being a commercial fishing boat captain. His path to Samaritan might differ from the stereotypes some people hold. The native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, grew up in an upper middle class family and worked 15-hour days as a first mate on a commercial fishing boat. He went on to marry and have a daughter, before his long-standing dependence on alcohol and cocaine became too much for his family to bear.
“For 15 years, I put my wife through hell,” he said. “I made promises to be at my daughter’s soccer games and never showed up.”
Eventually, his wife kicked him out and he moved in with his mother in Eden, North Carolina. But it didn’t help. Frustrated after hurting everyone in his life, Loman enrolled in Project Cornerstone.
“I always thought I was a man, but I wasn’t,” he said. “This place taught me how to love another human being, and how to work toward my goals.”
Loman graduated from project cornerstone in 2018. He now has a steady job, a place of his own, and he recently started taking classes at Liberty University. His dream is to become a drug and alcohol counselor.
He is also grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with his family. “When you sober up and realize that you have hurt everyone around you, but somehow, those same people are willing to accept you back into their lives, it’s just amazing.”
Loman has also recently started fishing again with his dad. “Like everything else, it feels good to get back to doing the things that I enjoy,” he said. “But, most of all, I’m grateful for my new relationship with God. As the Bible says, I’m more interested now in being a fisher of men.”
These are just two of the many comeback stories taking place every day at Samaritan Ministries.
“We are giving these men a second chance at life,” said Alex Jarrell, marketing and communications director at Samaritan Ministries. “And thanks to our partnership with Novant Health, we are working toward keeping these men healthy for the long run.”
The Novant Health community engagement team has supported Samaritan Ministries since 2017. “The important work that Samaritan Ministries does in our community aligns perfectly with our commitment to improve the health of our communities’ most vulnerable citizens,” said Erica Owens, Novant Health community engagement specialist.
In addition to providing funding for Project Cornerstone, Novant Health recently partnered with Samaritan Ministries to set up a referral program. Medical providers from Novant Health can now make direct referrals so that patients can receive preventive help and, hopefully, avoid a costly hospital visit down the road.
For Jarrell, the partnership is most evident on Fridays at lunch. “It is cool to see how many purple shirts (Novant Health volunteers) give of their time on Friday afternoons to help improve the lives of those living in poverty in our community.”
As a not-for-profit, Samaritan Ministries relies on donor support and volunteers to help meet the needs of the homeless community in Forsyth County. To learn how you can support or volunteer at Samaritan Ministries, visit samaritanforsyth.org/volunteerreg.
Join us on Sunday, September 29 for an Open House event!
We look forward to seeing you!
(You will not have to enter any personal information)
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