Samaritan's Purse

I have been with Samaritan’s Purse for some years now, so I have a fair enough understanding of what goes on within the organization at HQ Boone, the Christmas child facilities, the international Dart teams and out on the North American field. Over all, I like and appreciate what they do at a grand scale. I want to continue my involvement with them, so myself as the writer will remain anonymous. My reasons for this written expose is that the highest levels in management will take notice and begin changing the management culture of nepotism and favoritism by holding management accountable for these behaviors at home and abroad. Nepotism is not going to leave the organization any time soon since the Graham family have complete control over the corporations mentioned in this paper. What I am seeking to change is favoritism. Favoritism is when certain people are chosen over others leading to a keenly felt imbalance in the workplace. Healthy members in management don’t need to surround themselves with chosen people to mask their own feelings of insecurity. It is the unhealthy ones who do this. And those who do this are not called to task over their behavior by senior management. If senior management cared to, they could deal with the root issues and eliminate such fawning behavior. The clean cut Graham image is crucial to their success. This is helped along beautifully by the Public Relations department. Media is the lifeblood of the organization and top notch teams dedicated to producing the images and video that they want the world to see are usually at hand when something important is happening. What is not seen in the edited media is the serious amount of toxic behavior within the organization. I will shed light on the organizations below where I have seen Favoritism; Boone Headquarters Boone is the Headquarters of Samaritan’s Purse. The highest values here at corporate headquarters is loyalty and obedience. If you are not favored, and have private thoughts that conflict with these values in the remotest way, it would be best to keep those tightly to yourself. Dress conservatively. Do not arrive at the office late. Do not take long bathroom breaks. Carry out your duties as best you can. Do not stand out. The GOOD OL' BOY NETWORK absolutely prevails throughout the fabric of Samaritan’s Purse worldwide. This permeates from the highest levels and drips down the steps of the basement from there. This network creates a highly inflexible social structure and occasionally abusive environment within SP. GOBN have their favorites that they call upon. Those people are bullet proof. Since the highest levels partake of the G.O.B.N. the other managers below them very often do so as well. I have known middle management to run off disfavored people by making life very uncomfortable for them until they left. It has been noted by myself that quite a few managers and employees curry favor by the strategic location of Graham family authored books in easy view in the workplace. I have never seen a suggestion box in Boone. North American Ministries NAM does great work and has to be the one of the best ran departments of the entire organization. The driver mechanics put in a lot of overtime which means they are home less than their non-sp counterparts. This leads to far reaching fatigue out on the field and the inevitable loss of experienced people. This fatigue leads to driver mechanics leaving the job which puts strain on the remaining drivers thus the cycle continues gradually downward. HR is controlled with an iron fist, so hiring a successful candidate for the driver mechanic position continues to be exceedingly difficult . NAM has been short handed on drivers for the entire time that I have known them. Program managers that I have known are wonderful leaders, yet this is not the case with all of them. More than a few volunteers have been turned from the organization because of callousness shown by a few PM’s on the field. No suggestion boxes found in North Wilkes. Disaster relief workers and sub contractors Sub contractors and disaster relief workers are paid positions within Samaritan’s Purse. The best of these hand pick their teams and use these teams each and every time they are called out to a national disaster. There are huge egos involved among them and it would be very wise to quickly understand what these leaders want you to feel about them. Follow this advice and you will succeed. Lately I found myself in Asheville helping many different kinds of people. It has to be a very unfortunate thing that many of the projects I had been sent to were done on wealthy homes which could have easily afforded to pay for the services instead of availing themselves of Samaritans Purse. I have been involved with home owner conversations concerning their closeness to the Billy Graham Association or with Samaritans Purse and it rises above my private suspicions that these wealthy beneficiaries were able to receive services from Samaritan’s Purse simply because they are donors to either to the Billy Graham organization or Samaritan’s Purse itself. . I sat at the dinner table in the Cove and overheard the sister of Franklin Graham mention that Samaritan’s Purse crews were out to her house to cut away annoying branches and fallen debris. Billy Graham’s house in Swannoea was also taken care of. Although Samaritan’s Purse took care of many poor home owners, it was my experience that more of the calls that I was involved in were with the wealthier people of the greater Asheville area. You can be sure that none of the media coverage involved wealthy homes, but only those of the lower classes. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Samaritans Purse sent out a Wash crew to a river in Swannonea in order to filter and treat water out of a tributary that recently had dead cattle, dead people, other dead farm animals, deadly microphobes, raw sewage, gasoline, diesel, and motor oil from the many leaking service stations. The tiny WASH filtration plant was next to the river and the road running along side it. Every time we drove by the free water sign, there was no one there availing themselves of the treated water, and why should there be with crates of bottled water stacked all over the city? I am sure the WASH made for good media coverage. Operation Christmas Child The Christmas child is their biggest money maker. There are 8 or 9 large warehouses found across the country have been dedicated to processing and inspecting shoe boxes that are trucked in. The Christmas Child season is an excellent seasonal job opportunity and it is tempting to obtain full time employment with Christmas child. Unless the seasonal worker catches the attention of someone very high, there is little possibility that any full time position could ever materialize. Things work best if you approach this in mind. Another aspect to think about is that this seasonal position is a work position and not a ministry. Keep this firmly in mind as you go about your daily work. Keep your thoughts to yourself and be careful around the people you work among. Come in through the doors, clock in, do what is expected of you, and go home knowing this is temporary. For the most part, the seasonal folk are a great bunch of people to work with. No suggestion box to speak of in any of the facilities I have visited. The shoe boxes are filled with marginally valued trinkets from China and then sent onward to the recipient countries. I brought up the fact that the dolls in the shoe boxes were mostly white and that the children who received them were mostly brown and black. I received no comment in return. One very proven exception to finding real employment within SP is to have been a recipient of a shoe box as a child in Ethiopia or some other dramatically noticeable country. Once you are discovered by SP, a special PR unit will come and interview you on the floor of the facility where you currently are and send you on to further training in Houston to improve your testimonial skills. After that training, and a release signature given to them by you allowing them to use your image in film, they MAY offer you an a staff associate position in lieu of that testimony. Your story is then promoted to the masses and the untold millions keep pouring in. I find this highly unethical. Dart Teams The Dart teams are utilized by Samaritans Purse all over the world in their international ministries. The the most frequently called on teams are the hand picked favorites of influential team leaders. The others who are passed over are seldom called up for work. If you are lucky enough to be chosen from the Dart pool to go, it is certain that the work pace is furious out on the field. Favorites of the team leader usually nab the good positions in the field and the others do the more tedious work throughout the assignment. One favorite pet can be at the desk pushing a pencil and the others sorting blankets, tarps and supplies for 16 hours a day without rotation. Favoritism again rears its ugly head and causes quiet discontent throughout the ranks. This generates complaints which are ignored up and down the chain. Those who complain are noticed and stand a better chance of being passed over on the next activation. Burnout abroad is a significant issue. No suggestion boxes. International Ministry Samaritan’s purse International Ministry is very, very good at the logistical end. They are also very good at arriving and setting up stations and hospitals. Very good at networking, and exceptionally bad at leaving. They will set up in places like Mongolia and Haiti, find out what to do, send in the media teams, record what is being done for PR and when they deem themselves finished with their projects, will pack up their hospitals, drilling rigs, equipment, media cameras and suddenly leave with little warning to the local churches left behind holding the pieces. No cameras recording them leaving and no suggestion boxes. Samaritans’ Purse does commendable work. They are honest in their dealings with the world, and certainly the financial aspect of the organization has the highest levels of transparency from the outside looking in. If Samaritan’s Purse applied the same levels of integrity among its working members, people would be happier, women would see more upward mobility and This is possible to change in the work culture and ought to be done away with. This pervades the work culture and makes the majority of its workforce feel insignificant.

I have participated in Samaritan's Purse since I was a little kid and they have such a great mission. They send shoeboxes to kids all over the world to give them possibly their first and only Christmas present. My various sports teams or clubs would do packing parties where we would all bring in donated items and pack shoeboxes. We got to pray over every box before we delivered it to the packing warehouse. Samaritan Purse is all over the US and continues to grow throughout churches. I love what Samaritan Purse does for all of these children and I hope to one day travel with them when they deliver the boxes to the kids. Please go and support Samaritan's Purse because you can change a child's life.

I do not know a lot about Samaritan's Purse. I contribute to them whenever I can. Why? Because I see that they go everywhere and help as much as they can, and the help is significant. I understand those who do not want to give. When I was a young girl, our family home burned down and the Red Cross put us in a hotel. So I know what it is like to be without anything and to hunger. My family received help, when most needed. So we are required to give to help others. You do not need to know who is being helped. For it is better to give than to receive. I also want to say not to judge, as I have sowed my seed, and GOD has multiplied it above and beyond what I have expected, more than five fold. So give freely, expecting nothing in return and GOD who sees everything will see what is in your heart and he will multiply it unto you accordingly. If salaries disturb you, leave that to God as well, as those who are given must account to GOD for what they do with the money they receive. Account for yourself, and leave the rest to GOD. I will continue giving to whom GOD places in my heart. I personally cannot travel to so many place to give help, as I would love to. However SP can go for me. Many are suffering during this Pandemic, I have given and given and given what I can. I believe because of that GOD has protected my family and I, for we lack nothing even though we are unemployed since COVID. I give him all the praise and Glory to his kingdom. I am not a customer of SP, I am a giver. Amen.

WOW.... HURRICANE MICHAEL RESPONSE Samaritan's purse has been an organization I've supported in some way for about 20 years. But I have never seen their actions first hand. Anyone that does more then serve three people is bound to have some complaints because no one can be all things to all people. And no organization is big enough to be everywhere there's a need all the time. But the human needs after Hurricane Michael were real and immediate, on a life-threatening level for many people that just thought this was another average storm coming ashore. When they moved into Wewahitchka to serve the Gulf County area it was truly an incredible feat of coordination and effectiveness. I was blessed by not needing their assistance but I have personal friends that have benefited greatly from the love and service provided by Samaritan's Purse. I am seriously impressed and this organization is moving into the top of the charities that I'm willing to support. This kind of response and coordination does not come cheaply, and people that are capable of managing this kind of operation are able to command serious salaries in the private Market. No one should complain about what anyone in this organization makes as an income, because the amount of money that is given to actual programs is big as a percentage, and if anyone, as I've just learned through my own efforts, tries to help on a smaller scale it just costs way more money than it does going through an organization that is set up to be truly effective. Once again I have to say I am seriously impressed. Well done Samaritans Purse, and thank you for the blessing you have been my friends and our devastated region.

Hi my name is Leanne Smith my husband's name is Mark Smith we would just like to thank Samaritans purse for helping us through the flood in Dearborn Heights Michigan we cannot express enough how much we are in gratitude to all the volunteers who came to help us in our time of need not only that they comforted us and reminded us that god is always with us when we felt helpless they prayed for us and it meant so much and lifted our spirits more than they'll ever know thank u now we can start a new chapter in our life and you will always have a special place in our hearts thank u so much❤

Samaritan's Purse has been in Jacksonville, AL now for several weeks assisting with tornado devastated areas. I have never seen an organization that does so much for people after a natural disaster! It is unbelievable to witness. They have worked so hard for everyone and do not discriminate on who they help. They are on the ground doing hard labor while other relief organizations just sit behind a desk and turn down requests for assistance. This is a wonderful organization!!

Samaritan’s Purse sent volunteers to help clean up my town in rural Oklahoma after a tornado. They also provided meals for a week. May God bless this organization!

Samaritan's Purse came to our community after a tornado. I was able to volunteer a couple of days to help with cleanup. The SP operation was one of the most organized and compassionate that I have ever seen. Very efficient. I have donated, as able, to SP since that time.

At late notice, I was told about this organization and gladly accepted their outreach for volunteers to be dispatched in Fiji for 2016 Cyclone Wyston's aftermath. Seriously friendly people and amazing care for their volunteers. Follower of Christ, Josh.

I'm very upset with SP we had some kids from a non profit school raise $7,000 to go on a mission trip with SP but they never got to go on it because of Covid . We tried to get the money back in order to redo it another time and they refused to give the money back to the school kids who raised it. They said they would take the money the $7,000 as a donation but we tried and tried to get it back in order to put it towards this kid's mission trip but they refuse to refund the money. We asked if they could put it towards the following year but they refused. They said they would just take the money as a donation we tried and pleaded with them because the kids raised this money for missions with SP but it never happened. There was a lot of people very upset with this organization because of this and they'll never get another dime from us again unfortunately. You know it's really hard to pick a charity that is upfront in forthcoming it shouldn't be that way. But whenever there's money involved there's always corruption.

I worked with Samaritan’s Purse in 2019 in Beauregard, AL. Complete scam. All of the volunteers and volunteer leaders didn’t help with any clean up! They either stood around and talked amongst themselves, walked around taking pictures, and/or walked around reading scripture to these people affected by the tornado. It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. I would really encourage people not to donate money to them as I really question where the majority of that money goes because I have witnessed first-hand that their volunteers aren’t concerned with helping. I think most of them just wanted to see the chaos and destruction. Never once did it cross their mind to actually help some of the affected.

I called the company to ask when I would be informed of where my box had went to, the lady who I spoke to was lovely she then put me through to a man who could answer a question I had about when exactly the boxes get sent to the children PRIOR to the current pandemic. He then informed me that it can be as long as 12 weeks for children to get their boxes after we have given them. He also said this didnt matter because the majority of the children in Africa who get them are not Christian. This floored me. A completely disgusting and stupid remark to make. I interrupted on that note to say, and I must say I said calmly that there are many children in the world who are not christian but still celebrate Christmas with gifts. I said I would not be choosing to help Samaritans Purse in the future. To which the man started shouting at me on the phone so I hung up. If it is taking up until march or april for these children to get their gifts then I would suggest asking the people in the uk to have their shoe boxes ready 12 weeks or more prior to the current collection date. I had shared the Christmas shoe box appeal at my university, with family and friends promoting it as It was something that seemed so special. I put so much thought into my shoe box and spent quite a lot. It was so warming to hope a little child would get my gifts and have a lovely Christmas. Samaratins purse are scum.

After Hurricane Harvey, Samaritan's Purse (SP) granted a $3.2 million donation to a local La Grange, TX newly-formed non-profit, Fayette County Disaster Relief Team (FCDRT). SP did not vet this organization beforehand and many in our community now know that FCDRT is a questionable operation involving mistreatment of many Harvey victims. Our citizen's alliance has discovered that part of the donation cannot be accounted for now and SP has come into our county with the goal of "covering up" for their poor decision. The SP donation has turned into a nightmare for our community! Now, two years later, we have little need in our community for post-Harvey relief but, without seeking citizen input, SP is currently teaming with FCDRT to build a 23 acre development with 30 - 50 FREE homes for anyone from anywhere! Our community will, more than likely, become a hub for illegal immigration and our local government, school district, police & fire departments, social services etc will become stressed beyond capacity! My husband and I have been contributors to SP for years but NO MORE!!! BEWARE OF SAMARITAN'S PURSE!

I live in La Grange, Texas. Samaritan’s Purse is in the process of planning for a 22 acre subdivision for supposed Hurricane Harvey flood victims that owned their home and was damaged or flooded in the storm. They are collaborating with a charity called Fayette County Disaster Recovery Team. Samaritan’s Purse gave the FCDRT 3.2 million when this organization had only been in existence for a few months. Can’t get access to financials of FCDRT after repeated request even though they are required to provide this information under Texas State law. There really aren’t any persons affected by Harvey that owned their homes still needing a house. Now SP says they are going outside the county to find people to place in this subdivision. And by the way, the homes are going to be free. This is not a hand up, this is a handout. Not at all like Habitat for Humanity’s program. The area residences are against this project yet SP continues on. My wife and I gave to SP for many years but not anymore. Save your money and help a person in need directly. Many of our friends have quit donating to SP after we explained what has happened here in our town. Be careful as things aren’t always what they seem.

Christmas time of 2016 I participated in operation Christmas Child . I was so excited i over stuffed a shoe box with school supplies ,coloring books and a LOGO TOY. i was so disappointed when i tried to tract my shoe box and found out it was never delivered. The check i sent for shipping was cashed and i have no idea where it went. I thought i was making a child overseas happy. Only GOD knows where the shoe box went

SP has communities not even 30 minutes from them and have the most impoverished county in all of NC. There is one food centers that give food once a month and the screening process is horrible. There is alot to be said about an organization that makes that much profit but yet economically depressed areas are all around them.

When I asked them to give specifics about how they are helping it took 2 weeks to get a response that basically said “we are praying for them” I will not give to this company again.