Good Samaritan Services

Grateful for these students from Lebanon Valley College!

They chose Good Sam for their serve day and helped us out with some yard work and sorting some toys for the children in our program.

Thank you, LVC, for making a difference and helping us cultivate a welcoming space for the men, women, and children we serve! 🙌✨

🎉More Good Sam news! We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a $10,000 grant from the PPL Foundation. 🎉

Daily, we help over 300 men, women, and children regain stability after facing homelessness and housing insecurity, and this funding allows us to continue in that important work.

We want to see all our neighbors thrive in safe, stable housing and are grateful for partners who make it all possible! 🤝

PPL Foundation, thank you for your support!

Say hello to two of our newest Resource Coordinators, Sabrina and Rebekah! 👋

Sabrina recently earned her BA in Sociology from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, graduating Summa Cum Laude and receiving multiple academic honors. Her studies focused heavily on homelessness, and now she loves building relationships with our participants, celebrating their successes, and reminding them they deserve kindness and compassion. She’s also a mom to four cats and enjoys spending time with her fiancé and three nieces!

Rebekah, a graduate of Wheaton College, came to us with a wealth of experience in case management after previously working at World Relief. Her favorite part of her job is getting to know participants and walking alongside them on their journey to stability. She recently married her husband and loves spending time with family, exploring the outdoors, painting, and creating ceramics.

We are grateful to have their compassion and insights on our team! 💙🧡

Erica and her sons are going on vacation! 🎉

Last fall, Erica and her two sons were living in a one-bedroom apartment when they learned it was over capacity and they needed to move by the end of the month. Even while working full time, Erica didn’t have enough to cover a security deposit, so she turned to Good Sam for help.

We assisted her with moving costs, and soon Erica and her sons were able to move into a two-bedroom apartment big enough for all of them. 🏡

But Erica didn’t stop there. She kept working hard and began saving as a part of our Matched Savings Program. Recently she met her savings goals, an amount we proudly matched dollar for dollar.

Erica is using those extra funds for something special: a vacation with her sons! ☀️🏖️ It’s a trip they haven’t been able to take together in a long time, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate this milestone with them.

A big thank you to our friends at Hopewell UMC, Downingtown, PA! 👏

During their VBS this year, they put together 200 welcome bags for the children in our program, full of small necessities they might need and some fun things as well.

The students collected water bottles, notebooks, socks, pillowcases, toys, and fun washcloths to be given out in canvas bags they decorated themselves. The older children also made blankets to include!

These bags will bless each child who receives them and help them make a new place feel like home. 🏡

💙We are grateful for our partnership with Hopewell UMC and how they share God’s love with our neighbors facing homelessness!

A little reminder of how far kindness can go. 🩵

We recently found these sweet notes from students pinned on throw blankets they donated to Good Sam, and it made us smile.

Knowing someone believes in you can make a world of difference, something we remind our participants of every day. Everyone has hope of a better future!

✨These words brightened our day, and we know they will brighten the day of the participants who receive them.

We are grateful for volunteers of every age who go out of their way to love our neighbors in need!

Big news! 🎉 Good Sam is once again a recipient of Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO)’s Seal of Excellence for completing their Standards for Excellence® accreditation program.

⬇️ Here’s what it means …

PANO evaluates fundamental values within a nonprofit such as honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, trust, responsibility, and accountability. They examine every facet of a nonprofit’s program to ensure ethical integrity before awarding accreditation.

This accreditation is the fruit of our commitment to steward the resources we have been given with excellence so we can better serve our neighbors facing homelessness. 🏡

We are honored to do the work we do and grateful for all those who help us respond with compassion to those in our community facing or approaching homelessness and housing insecurity!

Vicky and her children have a new home! 🎉

After starting their journey in our emergency housing program early last year, Vicky struggled to get the job she wanted. She prayed the situation with someone at a local church and that marked a turning point in her story.

She was accepted in the position she hoped for and worked her way through both our transitional and affordable housing programs. 👏 Just this month, Vicky signed a lease to her very own apartment!

And thanks to Off The Streets Lancaster PA who helped her with a security deposit and furniture, she has what she needs to make the space a home. 🏡