Actions: Volunteering in multiple ways for the community as a member of St. Vincent de Paul

Submitted by:  Anonymous   

"I am a Vincentian; a member of St. Vincent de Paul, a world wide 250 year old organization that is dedicated to the service of the poor, the lonely, the marginalized etc.

We do whatever we can to help. We go on home visits (no long lines for the poor to wait in; we try to respect their dignity) to access their needs & befriend them & to pray with them (if they want us to).  We give them groceries & help pay their utility bills, rent, prescriptions etc.  We help transients by putting them up in a motel & giving them a meal.  My husband used to drive 2 men to dialysis from Elgin to Austin ; they have both since passed away.  We recently finished working with the Capital Area Food Bank [CAFB] & the federal government in administering the Summer Food Program by distributing 2 boxes of 25 lbs of food to families with children for each month of the summer. 

I order food from the CAFB for our food pantry & my husband goes & picks it up & stocks the pantry. We also go to HEB for other groceries for the pantry.  We collect Christmas presents for our client/friends & give out HEB gift cards at Thanksgiving. 

I’m the treasurer for our conference & have an annual report due the end of October."