In Step

July-August 2022
Go, Johnny, Go! - Read Below!
Summer Drive Time!

If you’re still looking for ways to support the Empower our Neighbors in Need (ENN) Campaign this year, why not do a Food or Toiletry Drive at your church, or in your community?

It’s an easy way to provide something our Participants really need on a daily basis!

Please contact
Volunteer Manager Sy Jones at sjones@samaritanministry.org
for more information.
Aging Gracefully – Our Second Next Step Workshop!
On Monday, July 11 more than 35 individuals participated in-person or virtually in our second Next Step Workshop, which focused on the topic of Aging Gracefully and was hosted by Dr. Imani Woody. Attendees were introduced to a variety of tips and ideas to assist them in managing their physical and mental well-being as they get older.

While the pandemic has limited our in-person casework, these Next Step Workshops are proving to be valuable tools to keep participants engaged and working on goals until we can fully resume in-person casework. You might recall from the May issue of In Step that our first Workshop focused on Healthy Eating.

We look forward to future workshops!
An Update on Johnny!

Back in November 2019 "Johnny" from Mongolia needed a winter coat and came to the cold weather gear giveaway on the front porch at our location in Arlington.

After completing an Intake with our Intern, Sylvie, she assessed that language was his biggest barrier. In collaboration with the Arlington shelter, Johnny signed up as a beginner English student (level 100) - on scholarship - for the Arlington Public Schools' adult English program (REEP) - a daily course for 10 weeks.

All he needed was the $35 registration fee, so Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington invested in his future.

The picture at the top of the masthead was taken on 7/14 features Johnny - 3 courses later! - with his Certificate of Achievement for English at the advanced level (450).

You can see the smile behind his mask and we are so proud of his determination and accomplishment!
A Look Ahead - Jobs First!
Thanks to a recent collaborative grant from the DC Dept. of Employment Services, we recently began a programmatic partnership with Byte Back, Skyland Workforce Center and Marshall Heights Community Development Organization to provide a combination of soft skills and hard skills job training, job placement, and ongoing casework services to ensure that employment is maintained.

This level of program collaboration is something that each organization has wanted to pursue for some time - and now we have the opportunity!

It is a two-year grant, so we're just getting started. In our September issue, we look forward to providing an update on how the first few cohorts went.
Recent Staff Changes at Samaritan Ministry
Communications Associate Ruby Wilson recently left Samaritan Ministry in order to pursue an opportunity teaching art to middle school students and to participate in an artist residency where she will be creating a children’s coloring book on unsung heroes of the civil rights movement.

Caseworker Intern Louise McCormick also left at the end of July, as her internship with us through the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) came to a conclusion. Louise’s next step is to travel to Mexico, where she will be teaching elementary school.

On the other hand, we are very pleased to welcome Antoine Johnson (pictured left) as our new STRIVE Trainer, providing workforce development support to our participants. Although Antoine has only been with us a short time, he is working very hard to help us envision what STRIVE will ultimately look like in a post-pandemic world. Welcome, Antoine!
Remembering a Samaritan Saint:
David Booth Beers

David Booth Beers, who died back on April 3 of this year, was not only a venerated church leader in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, he was – here at Samaritan Ministry and around the region – a true Samaritan Saint! Samaritan Ministry was near and dear to his heart from our founding in 1986. Almost from the beginning, David was THE standing auctioneer for the variously named annual galas. And, as many of you will recall, he was good! Entertaining, engaging – and as all great auctioneers are, great arm-twisters with a smile. For a while Samaritan tried other auctioneers, but the comparison (or contrast!) was always to David Beers, right up until the last time he played that role in 2013.

While David was never on the SMGW Board, he was always in the "kitchen cabinet", playing a critical role, as pro bono counsel to Samaritan Ministry for over 20 years, from our inception until the early 2000’s when he handed the torch off to current pro bono counsel Jack Orrick. But, with his wife Peggy – who herself played multiple leadership roles representing St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church (DC) – David continued to be a very major contributor of his time, talent, and treasurer.

David’s legacy lives on in Samaritan Ministry lore, as someone who made this challenging non-profit ministry not just a community – but a place in our hearts, a place that we all wanted to be, due in no small part to his passionate commitment, extraordinary generosity, and quick wit. In the company of all the saints, may he rest in peace, even as his heart and soul live on in the memories of those who share this ministry.   
More Photos from St. Columba's "Walk Down Wisconsin" from the Courtyard at St. Columba's to Washington National Cathedral!
We wanted to share some more pictures from St. Columba's Episcopal Church. Special thanks to photographer Andrew Trotter for chronicling the walk!
"'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the one fell into the hands of the robbers?' The lawyer answered, 'The Samaritan who showed kindness.' Jesus said, 'Go and do likewise.'"

Luke: 10:36-37