Society of St Vincent de Paul
St James Cathedral-Bl Rosalie
Rendu Conference
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| Top, from left: Martha Crites (Secretary), Bob Clifford
(Treasurer), Blake Steller (President) / Bottom (from left):
Michelle Power (Vice President), Andrea Stuber (Spiritual
Advisor), Peter Burns (Spiritual Advisor) |
“We must lay a bold hand on the core of
poverty.”
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853)
principal founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul
“Never have I prayed so well as in the
streets.”
Blessed Rosalie Rendu (1786-1856)
mentor to the founders of the Society of St Vincent de Paul
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVdP) is a
world-wide, independent, Catholic charitable organization.
SVdP has maintained an active ministry in Seattle since 1920 and at
St James Cathedral since 1921.
Guided by the
principles of its founders and the teachings of its patron, St
Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), SVdP volunteers (called Vincentians)
seek personal spiritual growth through service to the poor. We
promote the dignity of every person and strive to help alleviate
poverty, including its causes and consequences.
Our
SVdP volunteer group at St James Cathedral is officially called the
St James Cathedral-Bl Rosalie Rendu Conference of
SVdP. We are sometimes referred to as Cathedral Vincentians.
We engage in two primary activities year-round: visits
and conference meetings.
Visits:
Through our visits, we provide emergency financial assistance to
residents of St James parish. Although we cannot help everyone, we
are usually able to provide at least some help to most residents of
our parish who contact the Seattle/King County SVdP Helpline to ask
for help. When we can help, two Cathedral
Vincentians visit individuals or families requesting
help. In normal times, we do visits in person in
the homes of those we seek to help, but during the COVID-19 pandemic
we visit by phone. Our purpose in visiting is to better
understand the situation and give what help we can, including
financial aid and spiritual support.
Conference meetings: Our conference meets twice a
month on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of the month, from 6:30
to 8:00pm. In normal times, we meet in person at St. James, but
during the COVID-19 pandemic we meet virtually. We pray together, share a spiritual reflection,
consider current situations involving people we are trying to help
and discuss related business.
Spirituality: For more information on the spiritual aspect
of being a Cathedral Vincentian, please see “Walking in the
Footsteps of St Vincent: How our Cathedral Vincentians grow
spiritually through service to the Poor,” published on
pages 8 & 9 of the December 2017 issue of In Your Midst.
Statistics: In 2020, our SVdP conference
at St James Cathedral helped 875 people through nearly 500 visits.
Over 99% of our total expense goes to direct aid to people in
need, primarily to help people pay rent so they can avoid
eviction. We also try to give referrals to additional possible
sources of help, including more help for rent, plus help for food,
clothes, furniture, utilities and other necessities.
To
request SVdP help in Seattle/King County: Call the
Seattle/King County SVdP Helpline at 206-767-6449 – 8am to 3pm
Monday to Friday. Submit a request for help online at www.svdpseattle.org (on
the homepage, click on "Get Help" near the top of the screen).
To volunteer with or obtain more info
on our conference at St James: We seek volunteers
(age 18 and older) who are passionate about serving people on the
margins, who can attend our twice-monthly meetings (about 90 minutes
each) and who can do visits with us 1-3 times per month (allowing
about 3 hours each time). To volunteer or request more information
about SVdP generally or about our conference at St James, please
contact any of the conference officers listed below.
To donate money to SVdP at St James
Cathedral: The best way to make financial donations to us
is to donate to SVdP
online via the St James website: Go to the “Contribute” page and
select “make a gift online.” Then, next to “Please use this gift
for,” select “Other” and, in the empty box below, type in “SVdP” or
“St Vincent.” If you prefer to write a check, please make your
check payable to and deliver it to St James Cathedral – be sure to
write “SVdP” or “St Vincent” on the memo/for line. Bequests,
memorial funds and matching gifts from employers are all welcome.
To donate clothing,
household items, books, toys, etc: Donated items are
sold in SVdP’s 5 local thrift stores, located in North Seattle,
Burien, Kenmore, Kent and Renton. The #1 need is gently used
clothing, most of which is sold in those stores but some of which is
given out at the local SVdP food & clothing bank on Fourth Avenue
South in the Georgetown neighborhood. For more information on
the SVdP stores and the food & clothing bank, please see
http://svdpseattle.org/ Also,
at least once a year, our conference sponsors an SVdP “Stuff the
Truck” event at St James Cathedral to collect donated goods.
Please watch the St James Sunday bulletin and website for dates,
times and details.
For more information or
to volunteer, please contact us:
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