The Good News
May 2020

A Note from our CEO


Friends,


As we prepare for a phased resumption of main campus operations next month, safety is our first priority for all clients and staff. We have served a large number of our clients virtually and have been able to continue selective direct client support during the quarantine. We are anxious to increase our umbrella of services in a responsible manner. 

We will be following applicable local, state and CDC guidelines, as well as Good Samaritan's COVID-19 protocols as we implement a phased return of our child, youth and senior services. We will be limiting the number of clients we serve, and some may not be welcomed back to the campus until mid to late August.

We are grateful for the support of our community and will do our utmost to protect our clients and staff to the greatest extent possible. Thank you for the tremendous outpouring of support that you have shown our neighbors in this time of great need. You have met the call and gone beyond.
Best,
Congratulations to the Class of 2020!
Our College and Career Readiness (CCR) Program held its annual End of Year Celebration on Saturday, May 16. It was a fantastic virtual event, where our community got to celebrate the Class of 2020 and our graduates' accomplishments. The keynote speaker for the event was Geekdom CEO Lorenzo Gomez III, who also grew up on San Antonio's West Side, and who gave an inspiring speech to our graduates related to his rise in the business/tech world. Each graduate also received a copy of Mr. Gomez's book The Cilantro Diaries . Our community was thrilled to be able to celebrate our graduates in their virtual cap and gowns and recognize their accomplishments. We are proud of Ashely Aparicio, who received the Bishop Jones Scholar Award, and of Johnny Perez-Hernandez, who received the Good Samaritan Ambassador Scholarship. Congratulations to all of our graduates in the Class of 2020! You can check out an End of Year Celebration video montage of our graduates below:
Teacher Appreciation Week
May 4 - 8 was Teacher Appreciation Week, and we want to say a heartfelt thank you all of our teachers at Good Sam for their immense work and impact on our children's lives. It's during these challenging times that we should appreciate even more how our teachers continue to make a difference in our children's well-being and long-term success.
Virtual Parent Engagement Night
Our Parent Engagement Night was held on May 15, with families attending virtually through Google Hangouts and sharing their experiences, both highs and lows, during quarantine. Flypaper Tutors was also in the house to talk about their services for free, on-demand tutoring which they are able to offer our families. It was great catching up with our families and look forward to when we can meet up with them on campus!
YAC Leadership Activities: Cooking
Our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) students make everything from smoothies to crepes, and let's not forget Isaac's famous nachos! Enjoy the pictures and recipes.
  • Ashely's Infamous Crepes: pancake mix, Nutella, strawberry, powdered sugar 
  • Jessica's Energetic Smoothie: apples, bananas, yogurt, orange, strawberries, milk, and sugar
  • Anay's Better than Starbucks drink: vanilla extract, milk, ice, sugar
  • Isaac's Famous Nachos: ground meat, seasoning, Velveeta cheese, beans and tortilla chips 
  • Israel's Big Mouth Sub: classic ham, mayo, mustard, lettuce and a side of chex mix
Philanthropitch 2020
Philanthropitch 2020 has been moved to a virtual event, and we are excited to be a finalist participating in the Philanthropitch Awards Ceremony slated for June 15 at a time to be determined. We will keep you posted about this event, but in the meantime you can view our Finalist Check In on the Philanthropitch page here: https://loom.ly/Vj2lZcI
Giving Tuesday
Thank you again to everyone who donated, spread the word, and joined us for #GivingTuesdayNow. We exceeded our goal and are excited to be Furthering The Mission today and tomorrow with you all. Thank you to the Semmes Foundation, Inc. for the generous lead gift to launch our new fund and to Ozona Bank for the matching gift challenge.
P-EBT Funds Available
Because of school closures from COVID-19, Texas received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide more than $1 billion in pandemic food benefits to families with children that have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals. Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) provides eligible families with a one-time payment for each child who previously received free or reduced-price meals. To learn more about eligibility and how to apply, visit hhs.texas.gov/pebt .
We are so grateful for all of our donors who give to our agency each month. Good Sam relies on the support of compassionate and caring individuals to help provide programs that empower our neighbors.