Samantha Bickham: EPIP Member & NOLA Evacuee

Samantha Bickham is an EPIP member and former program officer at the Community Foundation of Greater New Orleans. She was the first recipient of a scholarship from the EPIP Professional Development Fund (Spring 2004), through which she attended a seminar of The Grantmaking School. I met through Linetta Gilbert, EPIP's program officer at the Ford Foundation, who came to Ford from the Community Foundation in NOLA. I usually see Samantha a couple times a year at the community foundations and Southeastern Council of Foundations conferences.

Here is a report on Samantha and her family's (thankfully) safe status. It was sent in by Wanda Jenkins, an EPIP member at the Community Foundation of Chatahoochee Valley (near Atlanta).

For those of you who have not had about Samantha Bickham's status, she is safely in Tyler, Texas with family.

I finally spoke with her last night and she is doing well considering the circumstances.

As you may know, Samantha was a 2004 Hull Fellow and formerly a program officer with the Greater New Orleans Community Foundation. Additionally, Samantha has just recently ventured into the entrepreneurial world by starting her own consulting business.

She was able to leave New Orleans with her mother and brother on Sunday; however, she has lost everything. Personal vehicle, furniture, clothing, EVERYTHING.

But in true Samantha style, she remains in good spirits. If those of you that have had the pleasure of meeting her, you know that she has an electric personality and is truly a wonderful person. I hope that while we are supporting evacuees everywhere, that we can find it in our heart to reach out and support to our own sister in philanthropy in her time of need.

If you want to know Samantha and want to contact her, or if you want to reach out and offer words of support or other resources, email rusty@epip.org for her phone numbers.