Samaritan House News

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NEWS BRIEFS

Fresh New Faces

Beth

Samaritan House enjoyed an infusion of youthful energy last fall when Beth and G.B. joined the Samaritan House social case management staff. Recent graduates of TCU and UTA respectively, they are proving to be a real asset to the agency.

VIPs of the Year

Dan

At the final Resident Council meeting of 2008, residents chose Dan B. as Resident VIP of the Year and Trey Nichols as staff VIP of the Year. Dan, a former restaurateur, caterer and award-winning restaurant designer, volunteers 35 hours a week in the Samaritan House kitchen and currently serves as President of the Resident Council. Trey, Support Services Manager, has the rare combination of organizational precision and the ability to work in an effective, compassionate way with residents.

Trey

Reaching Out to Ex-offenders

Julia & Joe

Four Samaritan House residents have found an important way to give back to the community. Each week they attend an orientation meeting for about-to-be-released prisoners and present the HIV/AIDS segment of the program. Besides offering a wealth of relevant information about what it’s like to live with the double burden of being HIV-positive and an ex-offender, these four generous residents, ex-offenders themselves, serve as valuable role models for those leaving prison and facing an uncertain future. Samaritan House is proud of the priceless community service these residents do.

Cynthia

Danny


	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 November 2008

Letter from the President

The Return of Joe’s Run

Coffee and Culture with a Star(bucks)

TCU makes its mark on Joe

Letter from the President

Steve Dutton

If you aren’t among the thousands already eagerly awaiting the Twelfth Annual Joe’s Run, you’ve been missing out. From what Joe the Parrot, our esteemed mascot, tells me, this year’s event is not one to be missed: it will be bigger, better and more fun than ever before.

Not everything at Samaritan House is bells and whistles, though. If a relaxing cup of Joe is more your style, check out the story below about an

upcoming. art display we’re planning with a local Starbucks, or read about how student volunteers from TCU help make one of our biggest community events really stand out.

First things first, though; if you’re ready to register for Joe’s Run, the most fun on two feet, click here!

The Return of Joe’s Run

As this story reaches you, hot off the presses (so to speak), we’re counting down less than one month until the Twelfth Annual Joe’s Run makes its way to the streets of Fort Worth’s southside Medical District, once again.

Grab your running – or walking – shoes, put that baby in a stroller and get ready for the most fun on two feet! As always, Joe’s Run benefits the residents of Samaritan House, a service-enriched affordable housing facility for individuals living with

HIV/AIDS and their families.

As if previous years were not grand enough, this year’s 5K walk/run is getting an added boost from Radio Shack, our new title sponsor, with a special Corporate Challenge competition that will link Joe’s Run to the Cowtown Marathon. The addition of a new 10K run has made this possible and will also draw many more runners than in previous years. At press time, registrations were pouring in, many from outside the area and even outside the state.

"Every year, this event seems to grow," says Aaron Siegel, Special Events Coordinator for Samaritan House and mastermind behind this year’s event. "To see people come out by the thousands, whether to support Samaritan House specifically or just to join the party, is an exciting thing to witness."

Start of Joe’s Run

Entry fees are as follows:

		Single Runner (Through March 14):	$18
		Single Runner (After March 14):	$20
		Team Runner (Teams of 5 or more):	$15
		Race Day Registration:	$25

Your entry fee also gets you a colorful limited-edition race T-shirt and admission to the after-race party. Registration for this race is filling up quickly, so make your plans early.

What began as a small gathering of runners and walkers has since grown to the point that the race was moved to the south side from the stockyards a few years ago. "We just outgrew the space," says Siegel, "plus now, we’re closer to home. It’s great to have the chance to direct the course right by Samaritan House."

Joe the Parrot

This year, the Run will be chip-timed with the new ChronoTrack Timing System used at major marathons around the country.

For more information, or to register before the race, stop by Samaritan House at 929 Hemphill, or register online by clicking here.

We’ll see you on race day!

Coffee and Culture with a Star(bucks)

For the third year running, Samaritan House will be the beneficiary of Art Hop, an event sponsored by local Starbucks stores. Starbucks stores will display and eventually auction off original artwork. Some of the art may be by some of the more talented residents themselves, but the rest is donated as an in-kind gift to the organization.

During the two weeks in early May that the art will be exhibited, Starbucks customers will have a chance to place a bid in the silent auction. All funds raised will benefit Samaritan House residents.

"Each year (the event) has raised over $1000," says Aaron Siegel, Event Coordinator for Samaritan House. "If a Starbucks employee buys a piece, the Starbucks Corporation actually makes a matching gift, dollar for dollar." The concept originated with a Starbucks employee who wanted to assist Samaritan House.

The event, though beneficial in a dollars-and-cents way for resident programs, is about more than fundraising. "This is yet another way in which we get our name and message out into the community," says Sarah Deats, Samaritan House’s Director of Communication. "There is Samaritan House material, and sometimes even staff or volunteers, at each location to talk to people who are looking at the art."

The event has grown both in size and popularity ever since. The Starbucks store at Rosedale and 8th Avenue, another in the Barnes & Noble Bookstore on University and a third at 7th Avenue in the new Montgomery Plaza area are all taking part this year.

For more information about when art will be displayed and auctioned at each store, visit one of these Starbucks locations. Details will also be posted on our web site (www.samaritanhouse.org) as they become available, so mark your calendars and plan to hop on over to the nearest Starbucks for a chance to see this interesting exhibition.

TCU makes its mark on Joe

When Dominique, an Advertising and Public Relations major from TCU, worked with Samaritan House last year, she knew she wanted to do more. This year, with the help of the Neeley

Fellows, TCU is leaving its own indelible mark on the Twelfth Annual Joe’s Run.

The Neeley Fellows, a group of students considered to be among the top of the business students from the Neeley School of Business at TCU, are doing a great job of promoting Joe’s Run and Samaritan House. For some, coordinating the participation of restaurants for the after-party at Joe’s Run may simply be a service project requirement to graduate. But for Dominique, the experience she had last year changed her whole life – or at least her major.

"I got an e-mail from an old teacher about an internship opportunity at Samaritan House in public relations," she says, "so I decided to interview for it to find out if I actually wanted to switch majors. I interviewed, got the job and loved it! Now I've switched majors."

The Neeley Fellows will recruit food vendors to pass out munchies at the after-party on the day of the big race, but their big push will be promoting Joe's Run and Samaritan House at TCU. Plans are in the works for the students to visit all campus organizations with a presentation about the race. At these events students, faculty and staff can get information and sign up for the race. The group is also placing two ads in the Skiff – the campus paper. They anticipate that within the next three weeks they will have reached more than 80% of people on the TCU campus.

Dominique

"I hope that the Neeley Fellows will learn why it's so important to give back to your community," says Dominique, "as well as how rewarding it can be. They also learn practical skills such as sales and marketing by actually participating in those activities."

Such a hands-on service experience that also imparts real-life skills is what Samaritan House is about, inside and out. Residents participating in the Hope Works program gain valuable job skills through volunteering, classes and on-site employment to help them regain financial independence. Many of these same residents will work alongside Dominique and the Neeley Fellows to ensure the success of this year’s run.

"Last year, (the after-party) was a roaring success," she says. "We had 14 vendors participate and they all loved it!"

Here’s to more of the same.

Whether you’re a runner, walker, coffee-sipper or simply a compassionate volunteer, we appreciate the many ways in which you continue to be a part of the lives of our residents at Samaritan House. Without you, we’d simply be just another nonprofit. It’s our people that make the difference, thanks to you!