St. Vincent de Paul

Vision

Like its founder, Frederic Ozanam, the vision of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is to "embrace the world in a network of charity".

Opportunities

The St. Vincent dePaul volunteers are active in several ways to serve the needy in our area. Some folks volunteer at the Thrift Store in Lawrenceville, as their time permits; others volunteer at My Brother's Freezer to distribute frozen meat to approved clients (this is not a full food pantry). Several people volunteer to count the donations once a month, still others help by answering phone calls. Of course, our most well-known service is the Home Visit to folks who have a specific financial need. There are many tasks that do not require a large time committment. Every task honors the dignity of our neighbors. Through our service each of us grows in our Spirituality and Faith. All are welcome to ask questions and consider becoming involved."

Core Values

The dignity of the human person
Identification of Jesus with the poor
The preferential option of the poor
Jesus is the Evangelizer and Servant of the poor
Growth in intimacy with Jesus is a life-long process
Poverty of spirit is the primary beatitude
The Society is concerned with charity and justice
Prayer is essential: personal and communal
The virtue of humility: personal and corporate
The virtue of charity within and outside of the Society
Divine Providence
Friendship
Solidarity
Community
Simplicity

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul offers tangible assistance to those in need on a person-to-person basis. This aid may take the form of intervention, consultation, or often through direct dollar or in-kind service. An essential precept of the Society's work is to provide help while conscientiously maintaining the confidentiality and dignity of those who are served. The Society recognizes that it must assume, also, a role of advocacy for those who are defenseless or voiceless. Some 12 million persons are helped annually by Vincentians in the United States.

The list of services of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States is endless. No work of charity is foreign to the Society. To quote its patron, St. Vincent de Paul: "Charity is the inventive to infinity". These are some of the services Vincentians provide for those who are poor and in need:

Food Programs
Emergency financial assistance
Rent/mortgage assistance
Low cost housing
Thrift Stores
Employment services
Job training
Counseling
Burial of the indigent
Camp programs
Prison ministry
Shelters for abused woman and children
Social justice programs
Advocacy
Twinning: foreign and domestic
Youth programs
Shelters for the homeless: men, women and families
Half-way houses for ex-offenders
Information and referral services
Free pharmacies
Education programs - G.E.D.
Homemaker services
Budget counseling
Emergency transportation
Nutritional education
Programs for victims of crime
Embracing the lonely, forgotten and alienated
Services to those in any way challenged
Disaster relief and services to victims
Assistance for victims of AIDS, substance abuse and alcoholism

How Do I Join?

Attend one of our monthly meetings; they are held on the second Monday of every month at 7:00PM in the JP II Center. If you're interested in this ministry, you’re a member!