**Until further notice, St. Vincent De Paul (SVDP) is not interviewing at the Church or holding in-person meetings. All meetings are over Zoom. Requests for assistance are being handled via telephone and email. Currently, SVDP is not accepting food donations or non-bridge items at the Church; SVDP has no way to access them or
distribute them to individuals. Monetary donations will still be accepted and can be mailed to the Church office. SVDP is working on a breakdown of their expenses for a future update. Thank you for your generosity with the SVDP program. We hope they will be able to resume distribution from the Church when it is deemed safe.**
 

Our Society exists for all adults who are interested in helping the poor and in developing their spirituality to see Christ in those we serve.  We started at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in the early 1970s.

We have a monthly business meeting on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm in Rooms 9-11 at St. Catherine’s Church. Our monthly prayer meeting is the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm in Room 23.

Our outreach interviews families every non-holiday weekend who may have electrical shutoffs, evictions and relocations. In addition, we offer emergency groceries to clients from our small food pantry. We work in conjunction with other St. Vincent Societies in the area, as well as local agencies to assist families in Kalamazoo County. In some cases, we partner with St Catherine’s to help our own parishioners.

In addition to our Saturday interviews we do the following:

1. We collect and deliver small personal care items donated by our parishioners to local agencies for distribution. These agencies include Ministry with Community, Open Door Next Door, The Ark, YWCA Women’s Domestic Assault Program and the Gospel Mission.

2. Lenten-BRIDGE THE GAP is a project that collects items that are not covered by the state assistance program. Parishioners are asked to drop off paper products, personal care items such as shampoo, deodorant or soap, feminine hygiene products, dental care items, and laundry soaps.

3. We facilitate a Getting Ahead Program at least once a year at Ministry with Community.  This program is used by the St. Vincent de Paul National organization and is from Ruby Payne and Philip E. DeVol.  The 12-16-week program is to teach methods for individuals to become self-sustaining. 

4. Our biggest project is our Thanksgiving basket distribution. The parishioners of St Catherine’s donate food and money to purchase and fill 100 baskets for Thanksgiving dinner for families in need. Names are received from those who sign up through the Portage Outreach Center, South County Services and families that are recommended to us in our own parish. Together with our St Vincent members, our parish families sort, pack and deliver the baskets of food.