Samaritan House, the Virginia Beach-based organization making meaningful progress in reducing family homelessness, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families.
Among the many communities Samaritan House serves, they provide free and confidential services to LGBTQ individuals who have been victimized by violence and suffering from homelessness.
“We are proud of the work we do in the community to combat family homelessness, and we are honored to be recognized by the Day 1 Families Fund with a generous grant to continue our work, especially in a time of need due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impacts on families,” said Robin Gauthier, Executive Director of Samaritan House. “Many families in Hampton Roads have been upended over the last eight months and the unique flexibility of this grant will allow Samaritan House to reach more families in Hampton Roads.”
This one-time grant, awarded to organizations doing meaningful work to connect families with shelter and support, will allow Samaritan House to expand its services and make improvements to its shelters.
Samaritan House is one of 42 nonprofits across the U.S. to receive the third annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, as part of a continuing commitment by the Day 1 Families Fund to help end homelessness for families. The Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $105.9 million in grants this year. To select these organizations, the fund worked with an advisory board of homelessness advocates and leaders whose expertise spans housing justice, racial equity, direct services, homelessness policy, equity for Native American communities and anti-poverty work.
The Bezos Day One Fund was launched in 2018 with a commitment of $2 billion and a focus on two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help homeless families, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.
