Third Annual Good Samaritan Awards Gala slated Oct. 17
By Lynne Sipiora
Oct 16, 2008
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Rhonda hasn’t found a dress for the Samaritan Inn gala yet and she is starting to worry. Even she finds it hard to believe that this is what her worries consist of today, after all she has been through.

You see, Rhonda lived at the Samaritan Inn for 11 months. She came to the shelter after her boyfriend gambled away all of her money and left her, and she tried to ease the pain with alcohol. 

“I walked into the Samaritan Inn with one suitcase, a beaten down and insecure woman," Rhonda recalls, "but I left with my confidence restored and a full time job - ready and willing to move into my new apartment.”  

In 2007 the Samaritan Inn “graduated” 167 people much like Rhonda - people that needed a hand up, not a hand out. We provide the support and resources; they provide the desire and initiative. 

Rhonda cried and hugged every staff member on the day she left and then she whispered in my ear that someday she wanted to work at the Samaritan Inn, so she could help others as she’d been helped. I told her our policy was one year out before being eligible for employment, and she told me she would remember - she did. On the very first day of her one year anniversary of independence she called me.  

“It’s been a year, Lynne,” she reminded me. “I want to be part of the team.” 

Today, Rhonda is a cook at the Samaritan Inn, serving up three meals a day with a whole lot of hope on the side.  

“If I can do it, so can you," she tells our residents and they believe her. 

At the third annual Good Samaritan Awards Gala, Rhonda will sit proudly with a table of other graduates, all shining examples of the power of support, services and compassion. 

This year’s gala will be held at the Embassy Suites in Frisco on Friday, October 17. Ebby Halliday, the queen of Dallas real estate, will be our honorary chair, Capital One is the title sponsor and Johnny B, popular morning man at WKLAK radio, will be the emcee. 

A silent action with 100 wonderful  items will be held before the specially-prepared dinner is served, followed by a live auction with five spectacular prizes - a weekend in NYC, a trip to the Pinehurst Golf  and Spa Resort and an opportunity to be a fighter pilot for a day. Rick Wells of Rick’s Chophouse and Richard Chamberlain of Chamberlain’s Steak House will also offer up five-course dinners with wine pairings for ten.  

Tickets for the gala are available for $100.00 each and tables for 10 may be sponsored for $1,200.   To purchase a ticket or receive more information call Molly at 972.542.5302 or visit http://www.thesamaritaninn.org/  

All proceeds will benefit the Samaritan Inn, Collin County’s only homeless shelter, so that we can continue to help people. People like Rhonda.