When you support Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, you are helping us serve the poor. These people may be your neighbours, your friends, or anyone who is struggling to make ends meet.

The 82 year old man down the street that has not eaten in 3 days, or the man who could not even walk to the food bank to pick up food, are grateful that they could call us. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the dedication of our volunteers we had the means to help them.

There was the 13 year old girl who was not expecting anything for her birthday because her mother had no money for presents or cake. Her mother had requested that if it were at all possible, could we give her a cake mix with the emergency food we were bringing. We were able to take her the much needed food and one of our volunteers made the young girl cupcakes for her birthday. We were able to make her birthday and their day a little brighter.

This is just a small glimpse of the things we do to help those in need.

A good deed brightens a dark world.

It was a few days before Christmas. The parishioners from our church had graciously donated more than we could ever have imagined in order to make this holiday a very special memory. They were all so eager to deliver some "Christmas love" complete with toys for all the children and enough food to have a complete Christmas feast including a turkey.

Our last stop that day was to a family living in a rental home. A couple of the stairs on the front porch were in need of some necessary repair. We could see that the parents were both very young with two children were between 4 & 6 years old. As I scanned their living area I could see they were living very modestly and could definitely use some assistance.

We explained that we had some baskets of gifts, toys and food on the porch and would bring them in. I assumed the children would be excited and go wild as I brought in the box of toys. They did get very excited, but not for what I expected. They ran right past the box of toys into the kitchen to the boxes of food. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I guess toys don’t mean anything if you’re hungry. The family gave us both a big hug and thanked us profusely. I left their house with a new understanding of what it is like to be poor and am grateful everyday for all the blessings in my own life.

I still have that same passion to serve the poor in our community each Christmas and throughout the rest of the year.

David (Vincentian)