New Rogers center to serve up more than meals

ROGERS — Jessica Gilchrist looked ready for a summer party with a flowing red maxi dress and red glitter around her eyes.

She went Wednesday to the Samaritan Cafe in Rogers for lunch — something she does every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when the center is open.

The Samaritan Community Center in Rogers soon will serve those meals from a new location. The center will open its 40,000-square-foot facility next month, serving the first meal Sept. 5, said Shaylan Dillon, public relations director for the Samaritan center.

The last meal at the current center on Hudson Avenue will be served Thursday. The community center, its cafe, market, dental clinic and care center will remain closed for two weeks, then open at 2910 S. Eighth St., at the intersection of Laurel Avenue.

The Springdale Samaritan Center will remain open for lunch during the two weeks the Rogers location is closed, Dillon said.

Volunteers and staff also provided clients with a list of all food pantries and hot lunches available in Benton and Washington counties, she added.

The Samaritan Church will expand to use all the space in the current center, Dillon said. The church is part of the Samaritan mission and not related to any other congregation.

Samaritan Community Centers provided 4,548 clients with social services in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, according to the website.

The center provided $648,000 of free dental care and 5,500 bags of food for weekends to children at 170 schools across Northwest Arkansas, Dillon said.

It was more than lunch that brought Gilchrist to the Rogers center.

“There’s no judgment here,” she said. “They always treat me very nice. Cold or hot, they are always here and always really nice.”

5 MILES, 12 MINUTES

Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers has leased the land at the center for $1 a year, Dillon said. The center sits a short distance north of the Samaritan Garden and the church.

The effort started as a coat drive with one of the church’s community groups. People donated coats, then soon started bringing food, she said.

The center was started as its own nonprofit group in 2002, Dillon said.

On a tour of the new location, Dillon proudly revealed six exam rooms in the new dental center, a 5,000-squarefoot warehouse and freezers big enough for a forklift to place pallets of food, according to Dillon Volunteers no longer will have to unload the pallets and store the food by hand, she said.

The new location isn’t without its challenges.

Clients said Wednesday that they were concerned about transportation to the new center. The Hudson location is in north Rogers. The new location at South Eighth Street and West Laurel Avenue is on the south side.

It’s a 5-mile, 12-minute drive, Dillon said.

“I hope they will drive the extra miles,” she said.

CARE CENTER

Perhaps the most important job of the Samaritan staff and volunteers is to build relationships with clients, Dillon said.

“They ask, ‘What brought you here? Do you need further assistance?’” she said.

The staff can help them fill out government forms and find housing. The new center will offer a computer lab so clients can apply for jobs and more.

Community members al- so volunteer their expertise, Dillon continued. An expert in navigating Medicare found one volunteer $600 in benefits she wasn’t receiving.

“They come out of there looking proud because they have a better understanding,” Dillon said of the clients.

“Our mission is to help you escape poverty,” Dillon said. “We’ll give you tools and resources to help you gain a better quality of life.”