Samaritan's Purse
Facts
President and CEO
William “Franklin” Graham III, son of the late Billy Graham
Founded
1970, by Bob Pierce
Purpose
Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, natural disasters, disease, famine, poverty, and persecution in more than 100 countries, with the purpose of sharing God's love through His son, Jesus Christ.
Budget
$1.37 billion (2025*)
Offices
With headquarters in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan’s Purse has affiliate offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Korea; field offices in 15 countries; and ministry partners in more than 100 countries.
Projects
Crisis and Disaster Response
International Relief
Samaritan’s Purse specializes in meeting critical needs for victims of war, disaster, and famine in the world’s most troubled regions, often working through local churches and ministry partners.
Since 2022, Samaritan's Purse has remained committed to meeting the physical and spiritual needs of suffering families impacted by violence in Ukraine. So far, Samaritan’s Purse has distributed over 280 million pounds of food, provided more than 125 million liters of clean water, and treated tens of thousands of patients. A country office was established in Ukraine in 2022, which currently has 11 international staff and 138 Ukrainian staff members working in the region. Since the beginning of this response, the ministry distributed more than 1.1 million Bibles to Ukrainian families to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The ministry has also provided routine medical and dental care.
In response to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that killed and injured thousands across Myanmar and Thailand, Samaritan’s Purse opened an Emergency Field Hospital. Medical staff treated over 5,800 patients and conducted 332 critical surgeries for earthquake victims. Over 11,000 families received shelter materials, hygiene kits, solar lights, and household water filters. More than 229,000 liters of water were provided through five community water filtration systems in Myanmar.
In late October 2025, Hurricane Melissa struck southwestern Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds and killed dozens of people. Samaritan’s Purse carried over 618,00 pounds of relief supplies, including our Emergency Field Hospital, across 10 relief flights using its DC-8, 757, and 767 cargo planes. Field hospital staff and mobile medical teams treated more than 4,000 patients and performed 105 surgeries. Nearly 150,000 items of critical relief supplies such as shelter tarp, solar lights, hygiene kits, water filters, Bibles, and more were distributed across the island. Four community water filtration systems produced more than 1 million liters of clean water.
The ministry continues to help families impacted by the Israel-Hamas war. Early on, the organization provided emergency food assistance to local municipalities and church partners. Samaritan’s Purse continues to partner with Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services agency, to provide standard ambulances and armored ambulances. Last year, the ministry undertook 13 major construction projects including medical and health centers in the region. Most recently, the organization delivered more than 223 tons of supplemental food and distributed over 1 million food rations. Ongoing distributions of critically needed items are continuing through trusted partners.
In 2025, Samaritan’s Purse airlifted more than 260 tons of cargo on its DC-8, 757, and newly added 767 aircraft on 30 missions worldwide.
North American Disaster Relief and U.S. Rebuild
Since 1998, when Samaritan’s Purse equipped its first tractor-trailer Disaster Relief Unit, staff and volunteers have helped more than 84,000 families impacted by U.S. natural disasters. Now, nine Disaster Relief Units are strategically positioned across the country for rapid deployment in the wake of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods. In 2025, Samaritan’s Purse responded to 15 disasters in 11 states, including floods in central Texas and Colorado, tornadoes in Kentucky and St. Louis, and other devastating weather outbreaks. After an initial response, Samaritan's Purse often stays behind to rebuild and restore houses for families in need.
Health and Medical
Emergency Field Hospital
Ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, the Emergency Field Hospital provides medical relief in disaster-stricken areas where medical infrastructure is either damaged, overwhelmed, or nonexistent. Each unit is customizable depending on the needs of the response and can include an emergency room, two operating theaters, a critical care unit, and more than 50 inpatient beds. This resource has enabled Samaritan’s Purse medical staff to provide life-saving care to more than 65,000 patients.
World Medical Mission
Each year, World Medical Mission—the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse—sends hundreds of doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals to over 45 remote hospitals and clinics in the world’s least developed countries, both as short-term volunteers and through its Post-Residency Program. Since 1980, medical personnel have volunteered on over 16,000 service assignments with World Medical Mission in 82 countries.
Children's Heart Project
This project brings children to North America and the Caribbean to receive life-saving surgery not available in their home countries. To date, Samaritan’s Purse has partnered with 88 hospitals to provide surgery for more than 1,680 children with heart defects.
Cleft Lip and Palate Program
In many countries around the world, individuals born with a cleft lip or palate are seen as cursed and immediately ostracized from their community or put at risk for health issues such as malnutrition. Since 2011, Samaritan’s Purse medical teams have provided life-changing cleft lip and palate surgeries for more than 2,300 people in South Sudan, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bolivia, Guatemala, Myanmar, and Nepal.
Cataract Program
In 2017, Samaritan’s Purse created the Cataract Program to provide life-changing surgery for those experiencing impaired vision around the world. Thus far, more than 10,000 individuals have restored sight through the program in Liberia, Cambodia, the Democratic Rpublic of the Congo, Mexico, and South Sudan.
Infectious Diseases
Samaritan’s Purse has responded to coronavirus, Ebola, Marburg virus, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, diphtheria, cholera, measles and other epidemic diseases through medical care, health services, hygiene projects, preventive education and compassionate care.
Operation Christmas Child
The global project Operation Christmas Child uses gift-filled shoeboxes to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 232 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 170 countries and territories. In 2024, Samaritan’s Purse collected 11.9 million shoebox gifts globally.
Each year the project mobilizes more than 519,000 volunteers world-wide to collect, ship and distribute shoebox gifts. Since 2009, more than 46 million children who received a shoebox gift have participated in the follow-up program, The Greatest Journey. This 12-lesson discipleship program teaches children about God’s amazing love and guides them through what it means to faithfully follow Jesus Christ.
Operation Heal Our Patriots
This program is designed to strengthen the marriages of U.S. military veterans who have been wounded or injured since 9/11. The primary component of Operation Heal Our Patriots takes place at Samaritan Lodge Alaska, a wilderness retreat offering outdoor activities and Biblically based marriage enrichment classes. Since 2012, more than 2,000 couples have participated in the program.
Animals, Agriculture, and Livelihoods
Samaritan’s Purse enables families in developing countries to meet their daily food and nutritional needs by providing seeds, tools, and livestock. Samaritan’s Purse also trains beneficiaries and communities to transition from subsistence living to sustainability.
Construction Projects
Samaritan’s Purse constructs houses, schools, hospitals, and churches for families and communities affected by disaster, poverty, and war. In Israel and the West Bank, Samaritan's Purse is undertaking 13 major construction projects in Israel in response to the deadly terrorist attack of October 2023 and the resulting conflict. These projects include community centers, two emergency medical service stations, two resilience centers, an equine therapy center, and a women’s health center—supporting families recovering from the devastation while strengthening vulnerable communities against future threats. Two youth community centers have been completed and were dedicated in November 2025. An additional community center and family therapy center will be dedicated in early 2026.
Feeding Programs
Samaritan’s Purse has specialized programs to treat severely malnourished children and runs large-scale distributions to feed victims of disaster, famine, and war. Over 357,000 hot meals were served in two countries in 2025, and over 38,6000 metric tons of food were provided for families in 13 countries. Additionally, the ministry has delivered more than 223 tons of supplemental food and distributed over 1 million food rations for families in Gaza.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
In 2025, Samaritan’s Purse provided water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programming to vulnerable communities around the world. The ministry delivered over 75 million liters of clean water, distributed over 200,000 WASH items such as hygiene kits and household water filters, and trained over 120,000 people on best practices for sanitation and hygiene. These clean water programs provided safe drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in impoverished communities, refugee camps and schools.
Women's Programs
Samaritan’s Purse works to reach vulnerable women by meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs through programs focused on maternal and child health, treatment and prevention of malnutrition, addressing gender-based violence, job skills training, education, and human trafficking prevention.
Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, is an international Christian relief and evangelism organization working in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine and persecution. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.org.
