Greetings Neighbors,

I have been reflecting on the changes taking place in the work that we do in the communities we serve. Our early childhood services are approaching this year with a renewed vibrancy. New teachers have joined our programs and infants and young children fill more of our classrooms. That has been led by working parents needing a safe and enriching environment for their children as they work and train for new careers. Parents need and require more from us as the challenges of parenting grow and our parent engagement programs are flourishing. Older youth continue to flock to our in-school and after school programs and we find their needs changing as our schools continue to adapt to the obstacles that COVID wrought on their environment. More students are showing an interest in vocational and STEM tracks, so interest in postsecondary training is steady. Finally, our programs for older adults are growing as well. Our older adults want to be more engaged with their peers and with the youth on our campuses and want to volunteer to be of service in a more direct manner.

While our programs continue to reflect community needs, our infrastructure lags behind the need. Some of our 70 year old buildings are showing their age. No worries, with the support of hundreds of volunteers via the HEB Tournament of Champions, UT and St. Mary’s Alumnae, The Texas Cavaliers, Farm Bureau Bank, and the Charity Ball Association, among many other organizations, we have invested in “building Botox” and have undergone a much need facelift. The five oak and maple trees that adorn our main entrance are thriving, we have upgraded our security and most importantly the Walthall Foundation and HEB Foundations have added brand new playgrounds in our back yard.

As our clients thrive, so does the ministry of The Good Samaritan Center. I get to see that transformation every day, and I invite each of you to visit what you nurture through your support. I look forward to your visits, telephone calls and messages.

Blessings,

Simon

On March 25, UTSA’s San Antonio Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) hosted the 2023 Southwest District Conference: Know Your PoweR.

The two-day conference included Keynote Speaker, Dr. Lisa Eversole, Chief Development Officer from the Good Samaritan Community Services who discussed, “How to Land Your Dream Job.” Dr. Eversole also served on a panel representing branding, marketing, and crisis management in the non-profit sector with other professionals from all over SA.

Lastly, Good Sam had a table in the Expo to promote their programs, awareness of the work Good Sam is doing, and to recruit talent from UTSA students graduating in May.

The picture above are the 7 UTSA PRSA student officers that hosted the conference. The conference was student-driven and student-led.

Good Samaritan selected two of our team leaders, Santa Reyes, Early Childhood Program Manager, and Kathy Wilson, Director of Youth & Teen Services, to participate in the 2023 Supervisory and Management Program, cohort 8, with the San Antonio Area Foundation. 

The program builds the skills of mid-level managers and supervisors through a 30-hour program.

The program included:

- Fundamentals of Management and Leadership

- Leading Change

- Work Motivation, Employee

Engagement and Retention

- Training and Development

- Interpersonal Communication Skills

- Staffing Your Team and Organization

- Performance Management

- Leading Diverse Teams

- Conflict Management

Congratulations to our leaders for their completion of the program and for representing Good Samaritan!  

Anahi Veloz - Data Entry Specialist

Evelyn Gomez - Early Head Start Specialist

Finnegan Nelson - Asset Builder

Heather Thomas - Floater

Leslie Salazar - Senior Services Specialist

Madison Dillon - Director of Field Education & Adult Resources

Maia Gonzalez - Asset Builder

Marisela Almeida - Family Engagement Specialist

Rafael Diaz - YAC Coordinator

Silvia Cantu - Custodian

Yolanda Barajas - Youth Case Manager

Good Samaritan’s Parents as Teachers is an evidence-based home visiting program that improves the learning, development, safety and health of kids by engaging the whole family.

Our Parent Educators work with families to enhance their parenting skills and develop personal goals that meet the needs of their family. We are currently recruiting families with young children from birth through to 6 years old. We work with expectant mothers to assist them through a healthy pregnancy.

Call us today to learn more about the PAT program! Carol Cortes, PAT Program Manager, is happy to assist you (210) 434-5531 ext. 3000 or (210) 557-2413.

Reading Intervention

In Summer of 2021, Good Sam’s Youth and Teen Services began to look at ways to address large academic achievement gaps and reading proficiency that we see due to the COVID-19 school disruptions.

Since then, Nancy Henderson, Reading Specialist, has been working with youth in small groups and one-on-one to improve the reading and comprehension skills of youth. In December 2022, twelve youths officially graduated from the Reading Intervention Program. All youth met their target and are now reading at grade level. In January 2023, we started a new cohort that has 25 youths, and they will graduate in May 2023.

We are excited to celebrate this huge achievement and hard work from our kiddos. Good Sam's Reading Intervention is becoming known in our city as we have begun enrolling families because the good news is spreading. One parent has been driving outside their family's community to bring her child to our program simply based on the success of this program here.