Student Contributor -M. Guthrie
St. Vincent de Paul is a non-profit, religious organization that is dedicated to feeding, clothing, housing, and healing families or individuals in need and have no where else to turn to for help. This organization also provides help for people’s physical, mental, and spiritual needs. They not only have thrift stores throughout the country but they have medical and dental care for the “working poor”, services for the homeless, food boxes, and general assistance for those in need.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is composed of men and women who are seeking their personal holiness through works of charity as this is a catholic lay organization and is inspired by Gospel values. The organization was founded in 1833 and serves 153 countries. They have nearly 100,000 trained volunteers in the United States and provided 12.5 million hours of volunteer service in the year 2018. St. Vincent de Paul partners with many other organizations offering several different ways to give back locally and internationally, for example Dollar Days, Penske, Thrift Books, and more. They also partner with Friends of the Poor Walk which consisted of 25,000 walkers in 2018, raising over $3.4 million. This national program has the purpose of providing St. Vincent de Paul with additional funds to help support their projects for helping others.
Teachers and students can partner with this organization to make a difference by donating clothing to local thrift stores. From experience, students will be able to give back to their own community by donating to others. Students may also participate in Friends of the Poor Walk to raise money for St. Vincent de Paul, the funds from this event will help those in poverty. Since this organization does more than just providing a thrift store for people to shop at there are many ways to be involved and help.
