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NEWS BRIEFS

Chamber of Commerce Honors Alison Moreland

The Northeast Tarrant Chamber honored long-time Samaritan House volunteer Alison Moreland as a Hometown Hero at its Hometown Heroes Tribute Dinner on May 30. The award was announced at the April 28 gathering of Joe’s Run volunteers, sponsors and top-tier winners. Alison, a former Samaritan House Board Chair, was also honored at the reception for her years of service as volunteer coordinator for the run.

New Bus Shelters

Thanks to the efforts of resident Betty P., residents can now enjoy two new bus shelters located conveniently in front of Samaritan House. Betty noticed residents shivering in the rain while waiting for the bus and contacted the T with her request. Good work, Betty!

Students Volunteer at Sam House

Six students from Fort Worth Country Day volunteered at Samaritan House on April 3rd. The group did general cleaning and completely prepared a room for a new resident. On April 18th, 21 members of TCU Leaps assisted the Sam House maintenance department with painting and cleaning. Our sincere thanks to these service-minded students!

National HIV Testing Day

June 27 is National HIV Testing Day. Samaritan House will collaborate with AIDS Outreach Center and Tarrant County AIDS Interfaith Network in their efforts to promote testing on that day.


	By reducing homelessness, substance abuse, crime, new HIV infections, and the demand for publicly funded medical care, Samaritan House makes Fort Worth a better place for everyone!

Samaritan House News June 2009

Letter from the President

Job Well Done

Young Professionals, Model Citizens

Family of Support

Letter from the President

Steve Dutton

If there’s a phrase that defines the team here at Samaritan House beyond the sense of community and family we strive to establish, it’s probably “hard work.” We could have hardly achieved what we have if we simply were intent on punching a clock and putting in our requisite time. By believing passionately in what we do, so does that same passion flow over to the residents.

Take the success of our Hope Works resident employment program and the incredible success of our partnership with Z’s Café. While it’s great to see our residents taking steps toward fulfilling their own dreams, it’s even more heartening to see how their accomplishments inspire our own staff and volunteers such as our new young professionals group. Read on to learn more about the fruits of our collective labor, and what exciting prospects still lie ahead.

Job Well Done

There’s a lot to celebrate at Z’s Café. Though it takes most businesses a year or more to establish themselves, Z’s Café – a collaboration of Samaritan House, Janet Z Capua Catering and the Community Arts Center – is already a success after only a few months, with crowds filling the café inside the entrance of the Arts Center six days a week.



A significant part of this success can be attributed to the ten residents of Samaritan House who are employed by the café. Their hard work, customer-friendliness and enthusiasm has helped attract and retain a growing clientele.

		Another important factor in the smooth start-up of the café has been the work of a group of community volunteers, each of whom mentors one of the resident employees. Their advice and encouragement have been of great value in helping the residents make the transition back to the working world. On April 16th Samaritan House honored both these groups – the resident employees and their mentors – with a reception at the café. Members of the Homes and Hope Giving Society, the Board of Directors and the Advisory Committee gathered to enjoy elegant hors d’oeuvres prepared by Janet Capua and a crew of volunteers, and to hear Cynthia, a resident employee, and Karen Anisman, her mentor, speak about what their involvement with Z’s Café has meant to them. Cynthia described her job at the café as the first time she has worked in 25 years, and noted that the part-time hours will fit in with her plan to return to college next fall. Karen spoke movingly of her first meeting with Cynthia, and of the admiration she has for someone who is working hard to overcome long odds. Janet and Carlo Capua also spoke about what a pleasure it has been to work with Samaritan House residents.

The entire Samaritan House family – residents, volunteers and staff – benefits from the success of the café project, which has quickly become the crown jewel of the Hope Works resident employment program.



“Residents begin to realize what they really can accomplish when they’re entrusted with these kinds of responsibilities,” says CEO Steve Dutton. “They start to see those paychecks come in, they gain valuable real-life skills, and several have taken on new responsibilities, both in the café and beyond. It’s also encouraging to see the inspiration and gratification the mentors find in their participation in the process.”

		Plans are already in the works to grow the business to include more catering services this fall. Samaritan House administration is actively seeking funds to help put the infrastructure in place to make this growth possible. “More business means more jobs for residents,” notes Dutton. “That’s our goal, so why stop with the success we’ve already realized?”

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Young Professionals, Model Citizens

		Todd Miller and his wife Michele have been volunteers at Samaritan House for a while, working with the children’s program. But before long, Todd wanted to find a way to make a bigger impact for the organization in the community. “After meeting Steve (Dutton) and many of the residents,” says Miller, “I realized that I had found a charity home.” Miller worked with Samaritan House President and CEO Dutton to create the
area’s newest young professionals group, made up of professionals under the age of 40 dedicated to raising awareness about Samaritan House.

So far the group has met twice and has adopted a vision statement, which is to serve Samaritan House and its residents through finding connections, creating hope, and exploring possibilities.

“As a group of young professionals,” says Miller, “it’s hard to donate financially, but time is available. From fundraising to everyday issues, we are committed to the goals and mission of Samaritan House. Through this commitment, Samaritan House will have prepared its next generation of leaders and donors.”

The group’s strategies are based upon the Benevon fundraising model, already adopted throughout the Samaritan House agency. Though there are other groups of young professionals in the area, the Benevon connection makes this team uniquely positioned to work alongside existing strategies.

“We expect this group to bring in a whole new demographic to the Samaritan House family,” says Dutton. “These are young, savvy, energetic volunteers who will give us invaluable help in expanding our network to this age group and beyond.”

Though meetings have so far been spearheaded by Miller and a handful of community members who make up the steering committee, the yet-to-be-named group welcomes all willing participants under 40 who have a heart for community service.

“We are also hoping to involve some of the younger residents,” says Miller. For more information about the Samaritan House young professionals group and their meeting times, contact Todd Miller at toddm@worthbenefits.com.

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Family of Support

Diana Menchaca is the first person many visitors meet when they come to Samaritan House. Her desk at the front of the administrative offices is the hub of many of the agency’s activities. If you want to know what’s really going on, ask Diana.

“We’ve been very fortunate to be able to maintain a stable core of staff for so many years,” says Samaritan House President and CEO Steve Dutton. “There is a sense of family among our staff, which improves the quality of services we deliver. Diana has fast become an integral part of that family.”

Administrative Associate Diana Menchaca came to Samaritan House a year ago last month, and has not slowed down since that first moment. In addition to maintaining the organization’s database of contacts, assisting with the Benevon fundraising model and helping with the resident newsletter, she has the arduous task of keeping up with Mr. Dutton.

Diana’s day usually includes a wide variety of activities, from updating calendars to designing and sending out invitations and reminders, to holding conversations with residents who drop by to give her the latest scoop on life at Samaritan House. “I love doing everything that I do,” says Diana, “and that is the most important thing.”

Having worked in non-profits before, she knew that’s where she wanted to remain. But it was the ad for the administrative position at Samaritan House that spoke directly to her. “The chance to make a difference really stood out,” she says of the ad she responded to. “I had never heard of this organization, (but) after the initial interview I knew that this job was going to be perfect for me.”

It didn’t take long for her sense that this was the right place to be confirmed. “The day I started I got the best welcome,” she recalls. “Everyone seemed to be happy that I was there and made me feel incredibly comfortable. They really accepted me.

“I was so impressed by the facility…and (how) the staff works together. I have never worked with a staff that supported one another like they do here. Here at Samaritan House, we are like a family of support, both for each other and for the residents.”

“We’re delighted to have her as part of our team,” says Dutton. “In many ways, she is the glue that holds the development team together, keeping us organized and on track. We hope to celebrate many more employment anniversaries with her in the coming years.”

Conclusion
Though we’ve featured only a few of those involved in the daily life of Samaritan House, so many more deserve our thanks and recognition. For all who work so hard as staff, volunteers and even residents who help lift one another toward a better life, thank you for all you do!