Coella and Manley Tate hid in the bathtub as a tornado hit their Bertie County home of more than 20 years. They prayed for God’s protection and said ‘I love you’ for what they believed would be the last time. The EF-3 tornado ravaged their home at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 4. Though a similar…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Beauty for Ashes in Paradise
Paradise, California, is rising up out of the ashes. The 2018 Camp Fire that took 85 lives, destroyed more than 18,000 buildings, and forced 52,000 people from their homes will not have the last word. Through a partnership with North Valley Community Foundation and Paradise Alliance Church, Samaritan’s Purse is replacing 47 manufactured homes for…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Samaritan’s Purse Responding to Wildfires in California and Oregon
Samaritan’s Purse is responding in California and Oregon as an ongoing rash of deadly fires has engulfed much of the West Coast, killing more than 30 people. Our staff and a Disaster Relief Unit—a tractor trailer filled with relief supplies and equipment—were deployed Sept. 12 from our West Coast Ministry Center in Fullerton, California, to…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Volunteers Offer ‘Glimmer of Hope’ After Wildfires
Learn more about volunteering by going to SPvolunteer.org. Smoke still hangs in the air of Santa Cruz County, California, one month after the CZU Lightning Complex fires first struck the area, eventually burning thousands of acres and displacing more than 900 families. The small mountain towns’ characteristic redwoods are painted even redder by streaks of…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Rebuilding in Nashville
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER IN NASHVILLE A series of storms and tornadoes tore through Nashville, Tennessee, in March and left behind significant destruction. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed across at least three counties in Middle Tennessee. Samaritan’s Purse quickly responded, as our staff and volunteers were on the ground serving hurting homeowners in…
Picking Up the Pieces After Oregon Fires
“Evacuate now!” Around 3 p.m. on September 8, Stephen MacAuley was playing the piano in his Phoenix, Oregon, townhouse when he saw a police car drive by and heard an officer announce the emergency warning through a bullhorn. Stephen knew wildfires had been reported in the area, but he never thought they would reach his…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Samaritan’s Purse Deploys Emergency Field Hospital to the Bahamas
Update (Oct. 19): Our team worked hard to quickly establish a 28-bed COVID-19 care center at Princess Margaret Hospital in the Bahamas. We received our first patients on Monday, Oct. 19. Read a more recent story on our work. — Oct. 15: Samaritan’s Purse has just deployed our Emergency Field Hospital and a disaster assistance…
50 Years of Ministry
Deploying Military Couples to the Frontlines of Disasters
At the 2019 Operation Heal Our Patriots Reunion in Dallas, Texas, we invited military couples to join our U.S. Disaster Relief efforts as part of our new Team Patriot project. Since the first Team Patriot teams deployed in August of last year, Samaritan’s Purse has sent more than 100 individuals to serve again on the…
50 Years of Ministry
Volunteers Are the Backbone of Our Work
Volunteers are a critical part of the work of Samaritan’s Purse. That’s particularly true at this time of the year, as it is National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. It takes about 70,000 volunteers to staff over 4,000 locations across the United States where you can drop off your gift-filled shoeboxes. (Drop-off…
Samaritan’s Purse Deploys to Jefferson County, Alabama
Samaritan’s Purse is responding in Jefferson County, Alabama, where at least one tornado ripped through business and residential areas north of Birmingham. The deadly storm toppled trees, downed power lines, and overturned vehicles on its path of destruction from Fultondale to Center Point. Dozens of homes were ripped apart in these communities and at least…
