There are few things in life that matter more than love. There are few things which can transform lives, relationships, or communities more than love. Love is powerful.
Today we have an opportunity to love. There is a perfect love available to us which we can receive today. When we know we are loved, we are: patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not dishonoring of others, not self-seeking, not easily angered, not keeping record of wrongs, not delighting in evil but rejoicing with the truth. With love we will always protect, always trust, always hope, and always persevere. Believe in love. Be love . . . and watch everything change. Samaritan Counseling Center is proud to announce that the Vice President of our Board of Directors, Ian Richardson, has been recognized by Bank of America as a Local Hero!
For more than 50 years, Ian has tirelessly served the community, as a volunteer and leader in many different community organizations. Ian has poured his life into the youth as a Boy Scout leader for more than 25 years, as the founder of a fundraising Christmas Tree lot, and as a member of the Upland First Presbyterian Church serving at camps, Sunday school and Little League. Through 20 years of volunteer work and fundraising, Ian has given hope to hundreds of families who struggle to overcome depression, addiction, abuse, grief and other emotional and mental health challenges, making sure that low income families received professional counseling at Samaritan Counseling Center. Ian has helped feed and shelter thousands of homeless through Inland Valley Hope Partners through 10 years of leadership on their Board, 2 years as Volunteer Executive Director, golf tournament fundraising of over $500,000, personal work at Walk for Hungry events, and physically repairing the shelter, He spearheaded the Sycamore Terrace–Upland building project for low income elderly. Also, Ian has served those with special needs with the Board of Ability First, Claremont, and the Alzheimer’s Association and currently is on the Board of Upland Sister City Organization. Just recently, Ian connected seven local Rotary Clubs to raise $120,000 for wells in Kenya. In large part, Ian, is the hero behind the scenes, building, repairing, collecting, connecting, providing infrastructure needed to provide services to our community. Congratulations Ian! We love you. We perform outcome measures quarterly that survey our clients to determine the impact of our counseling services. And we have GREAT NEWS!
In our most recent survey, of the 53 people surveyed during the 2 week period, Over 78% showed improvement in emotional wellbeing, nearly 69% showed improvement in functioning, and nearly 72% showed improvement in behavior compared to before they started counseling. So overall, 73% showed improvement in mental health as an outcome of receiving counseling services. In addition, of those who answered the parenting questions, 68% showed improvement in parenting ability. Of the children surveyed, 64% showed improved mental health overall and of those who had four or more counseling sessions, 100% showed improved mental health. Ruth Finnigan is inspired by the words of a woman who fully embodied the ideal of " The Good Samaritan":
"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." — Mother Teresa Diana Aguirre wanted to share this quote that really spoke to her.
"We must be willing to feel the effects of our loss, to examine our hearts under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, to release tears, and to relinquish our rights to understand. In doing so, we will feel the pain, but we’ll learn appropriate ways to express it. Some-times it will be through the healing release of tears, prayer, some form of art, or words (spoken or written)." -Patsy Clairmont- Sometimes, due to the circumstances in our lives, hope may be hard to find. Our vision is clouded by problems. We are challenged to see anything else. At times like this, we often need someone else to come alongside us and help us see clearly, to help us remember the breakthroughs of the past and to see at least the next step in the path toward a better future. Reaching out and knowing there is someone there to help is often the first step toward hope. --Lara Scott
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AuthorVarious staff members of Samaritan Counseling Center contribute to this blog, seeking to share news and inspiration about the power of hope, healing and forgiveness. Archives
June 2025
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