Local St. Vincent de Paul Society provided more than $625,000 in aid last fiscal year

For The Catholic Week
The local Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul that covers the area of the Archdiocese of Mobile reported that Vincentians throughout the archdiocese provided more than $625,000 worth of aid to the poor and needy in southern Alabama during the latest fiscal year.
The Society provided just over $359,000 in direct financial aid to needy families which includes help with utilities, rent and food. In addition, the Society also gave out more than $266,000 in items donated to the Society for the poor such as food from its pantries, clothing and furniture. This aid touched more than 23,000 people in our diocese by way of home visits, hospital visits, visits to the homebound and other meetings with those seeking assistance.
All of this help comes directly from the donations that parishioners give to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Whatever comes in as donations, the Vincentians give right back out in aid. All potential recipients of aid are checked out, as best as possible, to assure that money and household items donated to the Society go to help only the truly needy. Nearly all donations are used locally.
SVDP is the largest lay Catholic charitable organization in the world, with Vincentians now serving the poor in 151 countries. The Society was founded in Paris more than 185 years ago, and has been serving the poor in the Mobile diocese since 1896. Members of the Society are the average Catholics in the pews who wish to respond to God’s command to all of us to personally help the least of our brethren in our own local neighborhoods. There are currently 361 Vincentians in the Mobile archdiocese, with 245 fully active parishioners and another 116 volunteers who work occasionally to help the active members on their activities. The Society has 22 SVDP Conferences operating within the diocese, with 23 of the archdiocese’s parishes affiliated with those 22 conferences.
To learn more about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, or to refer someone to SVDP who needs help, visit www.svdpmobilecouncil.org.