Good Samaritan Ministries was originated by St. Vincent Depaul for the purpose of providing clothing and household items to those in need. The ministry accepted donations, and in turn, gave them away. It wasn’t until the 1980s, when the ministry opened on Cooke Street, that the thrift store concept was developed and the name changed to Good Samaritan Family Ministries. It was then that the Good Samaritan Thrift Store started a financial assistance program, which led to our present-day Assistance Ministry program.
The thrift store became profitable in 1997-1998. It was originally located on Fuller Street behind the Montana Club. The thrift store’s second location was a building formerly located behind God’s Love on Last Chance Gulch. From this site, the store moved to Cooke Street in the 6th Ward District, then to Hannaford Street, and finally to our current location on North Montana Avenue. Now Good Samaritan Ministries occupies all 44,000 square feet for both the thrift store and ministry office space.
The Good Samaritan Family Ministries was and is part of the Good Samaritan Ministries and is legally registered as the Good Samaritan Thrift Store. Today, the Good Samaritan Family Ministry is referred to as the Assistance Ministry.
In the late 1980s, the store began to support itself and the ministries began to grow, while continuing to grow through retail and social services.
Today, the Good Samaritan Ministries Thrift Store is expanded to 40,000 square feet at our location on Montana Avenue. Between the thrift store and Assistance Ministry, we employ over 40 individuals, both full and part-time. Since the inception of our database for tracking assistance in the 1990s, we have contributed over $25M to community members in need.