Catholic Charities
Providing help. Creating hope.

Reaching out to a stranger 

Catholic Charities Foundation created the Good Samaritan Guild to honor benefactors who make Planned Gifts. The Good Samaritan Guild is a spiritual gathering of benefactors brought together by the Planned Gifts they have made. These gifts will continue to make a difference in the lives of strangers for years to come.

The Good Samaritan Guild has no dues and no scheduled events. It does offer spiritual benefits. Each month, the chaplain of the Guild says a Mass for the intentions of all the living benefactors. He also says a Mass for the repose of the souls of all deceased benefactors. As long as there is a Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Venice, monthly Masses will be said for all living and deceased members of the Good Samaritan Guild.

The Good Samaritan Guild also offers material signs of membership. Upon enrollment in the Guild, members (or their survivors) are notified of the membership. They also receive the Good Samaritan newsletter and the Catholic Charities Annual Report. Guild members receive a membership scroll with a reproduction of a poignant detail of the Good Samaritan painting. Displayed on a wall in the lobby of the Catholic Charities diocesan office is a copy of the original painting. On a reader’s shelf beneath the painting, the Good Samaritan Book is on permanent display for visitors to review. The book contains the names of all Guild members.

There are many different kinds of Planned Gifts that Good Samaritans can make to meet the needs of strangers. For example, some Good Samaritans choose to remember Catholic Charities in their wills. Others make outright gifts to the Catholic Charities Foundation. Still others establish charitable gift annuities, lead trusts or remainder trusts. They do this by converting cash, stocks, property, paid-up life insurance, coin and stamp collections, jewelry or other assets into the Planned Gift of their choice. The Good Samaritan Guild always follows the wishes of the benefactor who makes the Planned Gift on how the donation will be used.

For more information on the Good Samaritan Guild, contact Foundation Director Lou Baumer toll free at 1-866-410-7650 or email him at loubaumer@comcast.net.

Do you have a will? 

Without a valid will you are at the mercy of the court system as to how your estate will be distributed.

Click here for information to help you prepare a valid will. 

Or, call Toll-Free 1-866-410-7650.

Interested in Mass Cards?

Congratulate, celebrate, honor a friend or family member with the Good Samaritan Guild Mass Cards.

Click here for more information about Mass Cards.

Or, call Toll-Free 1-866-410-7650.

Click here for more information about Planned Giving.