St. Vincent DePaul

"God does not ask that we do great things, only small things with great love."  Mother Teresa of Calcutta

The St. Vincent de Paul Society

St. Raphael Catholic Church Conference

 Helpline at St Raphael:  727-896-6137

Our email:   [email protected]  

The Helpline is monitored Mon. - Fri. and return calls made within 24-48 hrs.  All inquiries are confidential.

Mission:  The St. Vincent de Paul Society is inspired by Gospel values to grow in holiness and build a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need by providing spiritual, emotional and material assistance on a person-to-person basis. We believe we see the face of Christ in those we encounter.

Who We Support:  The St. Raphael Conference of SVDP supports both parishioners and non-parishioners who live between 5th Ave. N and 54th Ave. N east of 4th Street including Shore Acres, Tanglewood and Denver Park neighborhoods. 

Membership:   The St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Raphael Church was commissioned in 1972, as a working ministry of the church.  Several current Vincentians have been members for over 25 yrs.  Members must be willing to do in-person ministry similar to social work, commit to attending conference meetings 1-2 times per month, to maintain confidentiality regarding our works and to support one another in our spiritual growth as Vincentians.  New members go through a formation process including individual prayer, study, and discernment, but also formal workshops and training sessions. New members are trained by current members in both group and individual settings. 

Assistance:   During Home Visits, Vincentians bring hope and financial resources to neighbors in need through assistance with rent, utilities, food, clothing, furniture and other emergency needs as well as providing food from our parish-based pantry. Along the way, we develop friendships with those in need, listening and praying together.  

To our homeless neighbors, we provide "Blessing Bags" (toiletries, small food items, prayer cards, list of community services, etc.).  During this engagement, we introduce ourselves learn their name, listen to them, connect them with needed community resources, pray with them and let them know we care about them.

Funding and Donation Opportunities:  Parishioner donations are the sole source of our funding.  Donation envelopes can be found on tables in the Narthex and in the church.  Financial donations can be placed in the Mass Collection baskets or dropped off at the church office at anytime. We also periodically publish a donation QR code for Paypal in the bulletin and our email address [email protected] can be used to make online donations using Paypal and Zelle. The Ash Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day Mass collections are our two major funding sources annually.  The Giving Tree, in place from the Saturday after Thanksgiving through Christmas Day provides our neighbors and their children with presents and funding for their immediate and ongoing financial needs throughout the year, as well as gifts for children not served by other organizations. Donations of non-perishable food, paper products, cleaning supplies, and toiletries can be placed in the collection bins in the narthex of the Church.  These are distributed to many of our neighbors on a monthly basis. You donations are used within our conference to serve those in need and are not sent to the district office and homeless shelter as they have their own sources of funding.

97% of all donated funds go directly to supporting our neighbors, 3% used on admin., insurance, mailings, solidarity dues and supplies.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of St Raphael's greatly appreciates the generous financial and material support of our parishioners. We are honored to be stewards of your generosity and please know your donations make a direct and lasting impact on the less fortunate within our community. 
St. Vincent de Paul PayPal
 

St Vincent DePaul is the parish support link to our Mustard Seed Ministry

For information about receiving financial assistance contact St. Raphael's conference of St. Vincent de Paul directly at (727) 896-6137.