TAKE ACTION
Tucson Samaritans provide water, food, first aid, and other essential items to migrants who cross the border in southern Arizona. Our goal is to alleviate the suffering of people who are making the arduous journey to a better life across the harsh Sonoran desert. Tucson Samaritans is a grassroots, volunteer-run, humanitarian aid organization. Join us in our work to provide aid and support to those in need by volunteering or making a donation.
OPPORTUNITIES
You can help prevent suffering and death in the desert.
Find information below about participating in Samaritans trips, providing organizational support, and supporting our work financially. You’ll also find information for groups interested in learning more about participating on a desert trip.
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If you would like to send us a media inquiry, please submit the form linked at the bottom of this page.
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Donate
As an all-volunteer organization, all donations to Tucson Samaritans directly support our work by purchasing water, food, and other supplies we provide for migrants or indirectly support our work by paying for gas and maintenance for our vehicles or monthly fees for communication devices or renting space for the storage of our supplies and vehicles.
While Tucson Samaritans is a ministry of Tucson’s Southside Presbyterian Church, 100% of all donations to Tucson Samaritans fund our humanitarian aid work. If you have any questions about giving to Tucson Samaritans, please reach out to giving@tucsonsamaritans.org.
Donate by check
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Payable to Tucson Samaritans
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Mail to PO Box 57072 Tucson AZ 85732-7072
Questions about donating from a DAF, including Tucson Samaritans in your estate planning, or anything else about giving to Tucson Samaritans?
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Please reach out to giving@tucsonsamaritans.org
Volunteer
Most volunteers participate in desert trips, which include checking and resupplying existing aid drops, exploratory hiking, and trips to the border wall to aid asylum seekers who wait to be detained by the Border Patrol. Some trips involve a fair bit of physical exertion — for example, carrying 20-40 pounds of water and food for up to three miles — while others are far less demanding.
Most trips leave Tucson at 7am; earlier departures are common, especially in the summer. For almost all trips, we recommend sturdy shoes, hats, and sunscreen for sun protection, and long-sleeve pants and shirts to protect against spines from desert plants. Summer temperatures are well over 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius); in winter we often encounter ice as temperatures frequently fall below freezing. Some people use walking sticks and gators (shin protection against snake bites). While the desert is harsh and can be dangerous, our top priority is to keep ourselves safe. Because cell service is nonexistent in most of the areas we travel, each trip carries an emergency communication device to summon help in a life-threatening situation.
To protect ourselves and the people we encounter, we only accept volunteers who have received COVID vaccinations. Unless a trip will cross the border to provide support to migrants at Casa de la Esperanza in Sasabe, Sonora, no legal documentation or identification is needed.
If you are interested in becoming involved, click "I'm Interested" and submit the form that will appear, and we'll be in touch.