Samaritan's Purse is an
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Christian humanitarian aid Christian humanitarian aid is work performed by Christian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to alleviate the suffering of people around the world. Humanitarian aid occurs in areas where some churches donate financial resources.
Origins
The m ...
organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its
Christian mission
A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...
ary work. The organization's president is
Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelist
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...
. The name of the organization is derived from the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
Parable of the Good Samaritan
The parable of the Good Samaritan is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveler (implicitly understood to be Jewish) who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. A Jewish priest and then a Levite ...
. With international headquarters in
Boone, North Carolina
Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...
, the organization also maintains warehouse and aviation facilities in nearby
North Wilkesboro and
Greensboro, North Carolina.
History
Samaritan's Purse was founded in 1970 by
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
pastor
Robert (Bob) Pierce, the founder of
World Vision International
World Vision International is an interdenominational Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce as a service organization to provide care for children in Korea. In 1975, emerge ...
, in
Boone,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
.
Franklin Graham met Pierce in 1973, and they made several trips together to visit relief projects and missionary partners in Asia and elsewhere. Graham became president of Samaritan's Purse in 1979, following Pierce's death the prior year.
By 2022, Samaritan's Purse had offices in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; the organization provides assistance in more than 100 countries. It operates worldwide as Samaritan's Purse, Ippan Shadan Houjin in Japan and as the Emmanuel Group, a wholly owned aircraft title holding corporation formed in 2004.
Programs
Samaritan's Purse includes several ongoing
ministries
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian mi ...
.
* ''North American Ministries (NAM)'' responds to emergency situations in North America.
** ''Operation Heal Our Patriots (OHOP)'' provides lodging and outdoor activities in
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
for wounded veterans and their spouses. It is a sub-ministry of NAM.
* ''International Projects'' responds to emergency situations around the world
* ''World Medical Mission (WWM)'', the medical arm of Samaritan's Purse, was founded in 1977 by brothers Dr. Richard Furman and Dr. Lowell Furman to enable doctors to serve short-term assignments at overwhelmed missionary hospitals.
* ''Children's Heart Project (CHP)'' provides surgery for children born with heart defects in countries where proper care is not available.
* ''Turn on the Tap'' is a campaign to provide safe drinking water in the developing world.
Operation Christmas Child
''Operation Christmas Child'' was created in 1990 by
Dave Cooke and his wife Gill for children in Romania. Each November thousands of churches, schools, groups, and individual donors prepare and collect shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, personal items, and other small gifts. A booklet of Bible stories is often distributed alongside the shoebox gifts which are given to children based on need alone, regardless of their faith. These boxes are then distributed overseas by volunteers. , over 124 million boxes had been delivered.
In November 2022, the organization reached a milestone by distributing its 200 millionth Christmas shoebox.
Elizabeth Groff, who was born in Ukraine and adopted by an American family in 2007, delivered the 200 millionth shoebox gift to a child in Ukraine.
The program uses "follow-up" evangelism with pamphlets of Bible stories that are given to families that receive the boxes, and an organizer for Operation Christmas Child says his goal every day is to "expand
od'skingdom through Operation Christmas Child."
The follow-up evangelism program of Operation Christmas Child is called "The Greatest Journey". It is a 12-week discipleship program for children who receive shoebox gifts.
U.S. Disaster Relief
The Samaritan's Purse launched a large civilian airlift operation to relieve those affected by
Hurricanes Helene (late September 2024) and
Milton (early October 2024). The organization completed 358 missions (helicopter and fixed wing). Besides, 30 thousands volunteers participated in cleaning the affected areas from mud, trees, and debris. Samaritan’s Purse deployed more than 5,700 volunteers to support families in Western North Carolina. In November 2024, Samaritan's Purse announced the launch of its new Hurricane Helene Rebuild Program.
Emergency aid
The organization's medical mission in
Liberia
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
, West Africa, was one of only two medical NGOs active in Liberia during the beginning of the
2014 Ebola outbreak. Samaritan's Purse and SIM USA both have been actively engaged in treating the outbreak of
Ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...
hemorrhagic fever in Liberia. On August 1, 2014, the organization announced that it was evacuating 60 nonessential personnel from Liberia.
Dr. Kent Brantly, a Texas-based doctor working for the organization, was the first U.S. citizen to contract the Ebola virus in Liberia while treating the disease. He arrived in the United States on Saturday, August 2, and was treated and subsequently released after nearly three weeks in a special isolation unit of
Emory University Hospital in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia. The organization recorded their mission in Liberia in the documentary ''Facing Darkness''. Samaritan's Purse has a fleet of 21 planes and 2 helicopters for the emergency transport of basic necessities and aid workers.
Ukraine aid
According to the Ukrainian government, Samaritan's Purse has been operating in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
since the start of the
war in Donbas
The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...
in 2014. Since the full-scale invasion, the organization, through local partners, has been delivering food, water, warm clothing, and medical assistance. More than 9.6 million Ukrainians have benefited from this aid. The organization has established cooperation with 2,000 Ukrainian partners.
The organization stepped efforts to aid Ukraine in the midst of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in 2022. The first mission staff arrived in Ukraine in February 2022. During the initial phase of the war, a DC-8 aircraft transported up to 84,000 pounds of aid, which was then delivered to Ukraine through Poland. The organization's warehouse in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, was used for the aid distribution. By December 2022, the organization had distributed 100 million pounds (45,000 metric tons) of food to those affected by the war in Ukraine. The organization's aircraft was also used for evacuating Ukrainian refugees. In May 2022, 28 Ukrainians were flown to Canada.
The organization donated various supplies especially for the youth in schools such as medication, food, supplies, blankets, tarps, and bags. The donations were made through various methods of transportation such as semi trucks being loaded with roughly 80,000 donation goods, being transferred at Piedmont Triad International Airport on the DC-8 airplane, and then being air lifted to Poland where the goods are transported across the border to Ukraine. The organization accomplished its 30th airlift donation in the month of September having started in February, equating to roughly 4 airlifts per month. It is estimated that 5.5 million Ukrainians were aided due to the efforts with food, water, and supplies. Furthermore, the organization provided roughly 30 emergency field support hospitals in Lviv with the result of aiding nearly 18,000 patients.
The deployment of the emergency field hospital in Ukraine began on March 3, 2022. The hospital was located in an underground parking lot of a shopping centre in Lviv. In September 2022, it was reported that the organization supported 30 medical facilities across Ukraine. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Health, more than 33,700 outpatient consultations were provided and over 260 surgeries were performed in the field hospitals set up with Samaritan's Purse support. Additionally, 253 metric tons of medical supplies were delivered to 164 medical facilities in Ukraine.In December 2022, generators were provided for hospitals in the Kherson region, as well as for the so-called points of invincibility across the region.
To further support Ukraine, in March 2023, Samaritan's Purse and its Ukrainian subsidiary, the Samaritan's Purse Ukraine Charitable Foundation, signed a five-party memorandum of understanding and cooperation with Ukrainian government structures, including the Ministry of Social Policy, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories.
Israel and Gaza Aid
The organization provided support to those affected by the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. In November 2023, the President of Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham, visited Israel to assess the damage from the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel and met with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
in Tel Aviv. The organization provided hygiene kits, hot meals, food boxes, and vouchers for internally displaced people in Israel. Also, rescue teams were provided with medical equipment, including defibrillators and 1,000 trauma kits for rapid emergency care. Hot meals and food were delivered in partnership with 50 local churches. During his visit, Franklin Graham suggested that
Magen David Adom
The Magen David Adom (, abbr. MDA, pronounced ''MAH-dah'' per its Hebrew acronym, ) is Israel's national emergency medicine, emergency medical, Emergency management, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The literal meaning of the name is ...
, Israel’s emergency services system, equivalent to the Red Cross first responders, needed a small fleet of armored ambulances. As of September 2024, Samaritan’s Purse had donated 42 ambulances to Magen David Adom. The organization was also working to support two Christian communities in Gaza by coordinating evacuation routes for them.
Other relief
Regarding the
March 28 Myanmar earthquake, Samaritan’s Purse reports that a DC-8 plane containing a field hospital landed in Myanmar on April 5; and on April 6, a chartered 747 took off from Greenville, South Carolina carrying more than 100 tons of relief supplies.
Samaritan's Purse airplane fleet
Samaritan's Purse operates a number of aircraft. This includes one
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is an early long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. Work began in 1952 towards the United States Air Force's (USA ...
and one
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the trijet Boeing 727, 727, received its first orders in August 1978.
The ...
.
Financials
The organization's 2021 financial statement listed $758 million in cash donations and another $245 million in donated goods and services. 85% of its $676 million in expenses went to ministry expenses with the largest share (42%) going to their Operation Christmas Child project, 17% to emergency relief, and 7% to its medical missions. Most expenses come from direct costs in delivering in emergencies, medical relief, and Operation Christmas Child (57%) along with staff salaries and other employment expenses (20%).
The organization has received a 4 star rating (out of 4 stars) from the monitoring organization
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates more than 230,000 charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit's financial stability, adh ...
.
Samaritan's Purse has received $350 in US federal grants since 2016, though as of 2025 that funding accounts for less than 5% of its revenue.
In 2020, it declined federal funding from the
Trump administration originally withheld from the World Health Organization. In 2025, the Trump administration made significant cuts to
USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance.
Established in 19 ...
, halting a range of disaster relief, global health, and other foreign humanitarian assistance. Samaritan's Purse receives such assistance, including money spent on medicine and hunger relief in Africa. Franklin Graham said he believed his organization would be exempted from the cuts and supported efforts to "assess and reexamine" aid programs.
Facilities and fleets
Based in Boone, North Carolina, the organization also maintains warehouse and administrative facilities in
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's, Lowe's Home Improvement, whi ...
including a former bottling plant and newly constructed facility where its 5 custom tractor trailers used for distributing relief supplies are staged.
The organization also operates a fleet of 23 passenger, cargo, and executive aircraft positioned around the world, registered in the organizations name and to the Emmanuel Group, a holding company.
Operations focused at their maintenance facilities at the
Piedmont Triad International Airport, along with additional hangar facilities at the
Wilkes County Airport.
A $1.5 million taxiway was built by the State of North Carolina 2019 to serve the organization's second hangar at that airport under construction at the time. Aircraft serve humanitarian relief missions as well as executive transportation.
*
Douglas DC-8-72CF: configured to support up to 32 passengers and 10 cargo pallets. The aircraft was built in 1968 and began service for
Finnair
Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
, then by the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...
beginning in 1985, then by charter airline Air Transport International before being registered to Samaritan's Purse in 2015. The aircraft recently flew missions an average of once per month. The aircraft will be retired by the end of 2025.
*
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
registered N467SP in 2010, based in Kenya.
*
Boeing 757-200, configured as a freighter. Built in 1985, began service as a passenger aircraft with
Eastern Airlines
Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...
then several British and Icelandic airlines. Converter to a freighter in 2006 where it flew for DHL and other airlines before being registered as N783SP in 2022.
*
Boeing 767-300 Freighter, registered as N367SP. Built in 2006, formerly flew with
ANA Cargo and
Qantas Freight. Will replace the organization's DC-8.
*
Beech Super King B200 turboprop registered as N874SP in 2010.
*
Beech Super King B300 turboprop registered as N841KA in 2020
* Two
CASA 212-CC cargo aircraft designed for take off and landing from short runways. Registered as N831SP and N499SP in 2010.
* Five
Cessna 208
The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna.
The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982.
The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...
nine passenger aircraft
*
A Cessna 172 Skyhawk and a
Cessna 182E Skylane 2 seat aircraft.
*
Cessna A185F six seat aircraft originally designed for agricultural use.
* One
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, Propeller (aircraft), propeller-driven, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same role ...
and two
Quest Kodiak 100 turboprop bush planes for transportation around Alaska including to the organization's retreat in
Port Alsworth, Alaska
*
Bell 206-L4 helicopter registered to Samaritan's Purse in 2016 as N146SP.
*
Gulfstream G550 19 passenger executive aircraft, registered as N521GV to Emmanuel Group.
*
Dassault Falcon 50 9 passenger executive aircraft, registered as N50FJ to Emmanuel Group.
*
Dassault Falcon 900EX 13 passenger executive aircraft, registered as N900FJ to Emmanuel Group.
Previous aircraft include a
Mitsubishi MU 2 purchased in the mid-1990s and a
Learjet 45 bought in 2020 and sold in 2021.
The organization donated two Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft in 2011 to a similar Micronesia-based organization.
Controversy
The organization has been criticized for requiring volunteers to sign a controversial Statement of Faith which disavows
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
.
The organization's board of directors, which includes Franklin Graham's son, Edward Bell Graham, has also been criticized for the $622,000 yearly salary paid to Graham (as of 2015), which is 40–50% more than similar non-profit organizations.
In March 2001, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that Samaritan's Purse had "blurred the line between church and state" in the way it had distributed publicly funded aid to victims of the
January 2001 and
February 2001 El Salvador earthquakes. Residents from several villages stated they first had to sit through a half-hour prayer meeting before receiving assistance. In a statement,
USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance.
Established in 19 ...
said Samaritan's Purse had not violated federal guidelines, but emphasized the need for the organization to "maintain adequate and sufficient separation" between prayer sessions and publicly funded activities.
In 2003, Islamic leaders criticized Samaritan's Purse within the United Kingdom after its president, Franklin Graham, called
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
a "very evil and wicked religion",
leading to opposition campaigns by the Islamic leaders. Samaritan's Purse responded to accusations of being anti-Islamic by highlighting their long history of non-denominational co-operation and charity work in Baghdad without attempting to preach or proselytize.
The Operation Christmas Child project has been criticized in several countries, most notably in the UK, but also in Ireland, India and Canada. In the United States, Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has stated that such religion-and-relief groups are "using their position of power to try to persuade people to leave their faith." In 2003, the British supermarket chain
Co-op and
South Wales Fire Service both suspended their support for the project after numerous complaints about its religious connections.
Samaritan's Purse responded by stating that Christian literature was only handed out where its staff "deemed it appropriate".
Franklin Graham drew scrutiny in 2009 for drawing a full-time salary from Samaritan's Purse, while at the same time receiving a full-time salary from
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). This was called into question after his 2008 compensation from both organizations totaled $1.2 million (most of this was the result of a new IRS rule that required him to re-report deferred retirement contributions that had already been reported over the previous three years). Some experts on non-profits have questioned whether one person can perform two full-time jobs leading organizations that employ hundreds and spend hundreds of millions around the world. In response to the questions about his compensation, Graham decided to give up his salary from BGEA, stating his calling to the ministry "was never based on compensation." He also had contributions to his retirement plans suspended until the economy bounced back. However, Graham was again criticized in 2015 when it was revealed he had again taken up his salary from BGEA, and that his annual compensation was significantly higher than that of the CEO's of similar but much larger non-profit organisations.
In 2010, an American woman and two Sudanese men were kidnapped while working for Samaritan's Purse in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
. The two men were released promptly, but the woman was held for three months. Upon her return to the US, she sued Samaritan's Purse and their security contractor, Clayton Consultants, a hostage negotiation consultancy owned by
Triple Canopy
Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company and private military company (PMC) that provides armed security, mission support, and risk management services to corporate and government clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by ...
, accusing the organization "of failing to train its security personnel adequately and of willfully ignoring warning signs that abductions were a threat to foreigners." The organization settled out of court in March 2012.
In May 2013, Franklin Graham wrote a letter to President Obama stating his concern that the
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
targeted Samaritan's Purse prior to the
2012 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...
with a partisan audit.
In August 2013,
Thankyou Group announced that it would no longer support Samaritan's Purse because it is not a signatory to the code of conduct run by the
Australian Council for International Development, which bans aid as a vehicle for promoting religion or political groups.
In October 2014, Samaritan's Purse threatened legal action in the UK against the posters of online comments on the discussion forum
Mumsnet
Mumsnet is a London-based internet forum, created in 2000 by Justine Roberts for discussion among people with child- or teen-aged offspring.
History and finances
Mumsnet was created in 2000 by Justine Roberts to help parents pool informati ...
. The resultant letters prompted one of the busiest discussions on the site's "Am I being Unreasonable ?" forum.
Response to the COVID-19 outbreak
Italy
On March 17, 2020, Samaritan's Purse dispatched over 60 disaster response specialists, 20 tons of medical equipment and a field hospital to
Cremona
Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
which started operations on March 20, 2020.
Alaska
Samaritans' Purse airlifted 8 tons of medical supplies to
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
on April 7, 2020, to help provide supplies to remote communities.
New York
In cooperation with
New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, Samaritan's Purse constructed a 14 tent, 68-bed
field hospital
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...
in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
on March 29, 2020, to increase Mount Sinai's surge capacity.
Through April, over 190 people were treated there. By early May, all patients had been discharged, and there were plans to dismantle the tents.
Criticism
Before the field hospital opened, journalists, politicians and LGBTQ activists raised concerns that it was only recruiting Christian medical staff and that it would provide inadequate and discriminatory care.
Volunteers are required to adhere to a
statement of faith, agreeing to a
definition of marriage as "exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female" and acknowledging that "
odwill banish the unrighteous to everlasting punishment in hell."
New York Mayor
Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
stated that the presence of Samaritan's Purse was "very troubling," while New York State Senator
Brad Hoylman told ''NBC News'' that he considered it "a shame that the federal government has left us in the position of having to accept charity from such bigots".
Franklin Graham later responded to Hoylman's request for public reassurance by stating: "We do not make distinctions about an individual's religion, race, sexual orientation, or economic status. We certainly do not discriminate, and we have a decades-long track record that confirms just that."
New York City's Commission on Human Rights closed an investigation into the hospital after finding no evidence it had discriminated against patients. The group's departure was hailed as a victory by LGBTQ rights activists.
Hedge fund manager
Whitney Tilson
Whitney Richard Tilson (born November 1, 1966) is an American former hedge fund manager, author, and Democratic Party political activist. He is a candidate in the 2025 New York City mayoral Democratic primary.
Early life and education
Whitney ...
, who volunteered his time and money to help build the field hospital, said that though he found the positions of the group on sexuality "abhorrent", in his view, helping the Covid response was more important than protesting the group's ideologies.
[ He said: "I'll have the ideological discussions with them later. If they're here saving my fellow New Yorkers' lives, and not even asking to be paid for it, then I will absolutely help them do that."]
Joint plans between Mount Sinai Hospital, Samaritan's Purse and the Episcopal Diocese of New York to convert the Cathedral of St. John the Divine into a 200-bed hospital were shelved on April 9, 2020. Although this decision was attributed at least in part to the assessment that virus-related hospitalizations had already plateaued, Bishop Andrew M.L. Dietsche of the Episcopal Diocese of New York later said that Graham's "exclusionary" and "narrow" attitude about Christianity was central to the decision. Specifically, the Samaritan's Purse requires its employees and volunteers to oppose gay marriage, which, in Dietsche's words, was incompatible with the work the New York Diocese had done "around the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people."
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Christian charities based in the United States
Humanitarian aid organizations
International charities
Charities based in North Carolina
Christian organizations established in 1970
Boone, North Carolina
1970 establishments in the United States
Evangelical Christian humanitarian organizations