Samaritan's Purse

Facts

President & 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

$707 million (2021)

Offices

Headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan’s Purse has affiliate offices in Canada, the U.K., Australia, Germany, and Korea; field offices in 17 countries; and ministry partners in more than 100 countries.

Projects

• Crisis & 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. In 2021, Samaritan’s Purse continued to respond to the coronavirus pandemic—deploying three domestic Emergency Field Hospitals to western North Carolina, Los Angeles County, and Jackson, Mississippi. Additionally, Disaster Response specialists responded to a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Germany, and helped aid displaced Afghan families in various parts of the world.
  
  The international Christian relief organization also airlifted more than 285 tons of critical relief supplies on its DC-8 aircraft on 12 missions around the world. Since 2016, the DC-8 has flown 254 total missions to 36 countries.

  U.S. Disaster Relief

  Since 1998, when Samaritan’s Purse equipped its first tractor-trailer Disaster Relief unit, staff and volunteers have helped more than 59,780 families impacted by U.S. natural disasters. Now, eight 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 through the cleaning, repairing, and rebuilding of homes. In 2021, Samaritan’s Purse responded to 20 disasters in 12 states, including Hurricane Ida, ice storms, tornadoes, and wildfires in California.

• Health & 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 24,500 patients. Recently it has helped provide surge capacity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, life-saving medical care in Haiti after a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake, and critical care in response to violent fighting in Mosul, Iraq.
  World Medical Mission
  Each year the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse sends hundreds of doctors, dentists and other medical professionals to 50 remote hospitals and clinics in the world’s least-developed countries, both as short-term volunteers and through its Post-Residency Program. World Medical Mission also supports remote mission hospitals by providing millions of dollars’ worth of critically needed medical equipment and supplies.
  Children’s Heart Project
  This project brings children to North America to receive life-saving surgery not available in their home countries. To date, Samaritan’s Purse has arranged surgery for more than 1,430 children with heart defects, in partnership with 60 hospitals.
  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 1,170 individuals in South Sudan, Liberia, 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 3,760 individuals have restored sight through the program in Liberia, Mexico, and South Sudan.
  Infectious Diseases
  Samaritan’s Purse fights the coronavirus, Ebola, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, diphtheria and other epidemic diseases through medical care, health services, hygiene projects, preventive education and compassionate care. In 2021, Samaritan’s Purse continued to add surge capacity to healthcare systems battling the coronavirus pandemic—deploying Emergency Field Hospitals to western North Carolina, Los Angeles County, and Jackson, Mississippi as they became virus hotspots. Teams around the world are providing critical treatment and conducting public education campaigns focused on Infection Prevention and Control around the world.

Operation Christmas Child

The global Christmas 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 188 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 170 countries and territories. Each year the project mobilizes more than 150,000 volunteers in the United States. Since 2009, more than 26.5 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 1,380 couples have participated in the program.

Animals, Agriculture & 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 around the world. Since 2017,, Samaritan’s Purse has rebuilt or repaired more than 2,550 family homes in Iraq that were shelled, burned or looted by ISIS, and construction teams continue to work in the Nineveh Plains to help more families return home.

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.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

In 2021, Samaritan’s Purse provided water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming to communities in 15 countries—coupling health and hygiene education with the construction of more than 2,150 latrines, nearly 1,150 clean water points and some 5,300 water filtration units installed or distributed. These clean water programs provided safe drinking water for more than 380,000 people worldwide 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, eliminating 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.