Good Samaritan Mission, Inc - View Member Directory

Good Samaritan Mission (GSM) is located on 11 acres in the middle of the Balm-Wimauma Countryside.  If was founded in March of 1984 to address the needs of the migrant workers in nearby farm fields.  At that time, the immediate needs of the local population was for food and clothing for themselves and their children. GSM helped meet the needs through the establishment of a food pantry and the distribution of donated clothing and household items.  The retirement of the founders in 2008 and the hiring of the current Executive Director, Bill Cruz led to a reassessment of the service delivered by the Mission.  A review of available community assessments completed by both government and nonprofit agencies revealed that the community had become more diverse and the needs had changed accordingly.  The population generally has other good sources of food and clothing but had other specific needs.  These include health education including HIV/Aids, teen pregnancy prevention, and information on the effects of and how to prevent hypertension and diabetes.

On Tuesday mornings the Mission is a very busy place. The Mission is open for class.  Adult students from throughout the community come to attend classes.  They often bring their children.  The classes are scheduled in six week sessions.  After attending classes the students receive a token.  That they can “spend” in the Mission store.  The use of these tokens provides and incentive for attending class as well as giving guests some say in the type of assistance they receive.

The specific services that GSM delivers to its guests continue to evolve to meet the needs of the population.  In order to continue to provide services the Mission needs volunteers and financial support