St. Vincent de Paul kicks off 155th anniversary by serving the needy

On Saturday, while most people were preparing to celebrate New Year's Eve at lavish parties, volunteers from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul served the homeless and hungry during a special New Year's Eve meal at Catholic Charities' St. Vincent Center, 721 N. LaSalle St., Chicago.

The St. Vincent de Paul volunteers served the meal to the guests, provided sack lunches to go, and cleaned the facility after the meal. Among the volunteers was Bob Minaglia of St. James Church in Arlington Heights.

“Bonnie and I feel a need to pay back for our blessings,” said Minaglia. “We volunteered today to let the people we're serving know that we care. That is why we are members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.”

While the afternoon meal was a welcome site for the area's hungry, it also marked the beginning of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's 155th year of serving the needy in the Chicago region.

"Celebrating our 155th year - a day early - by serving a meal to the hungry honors our mission," said Frieda Bertello, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago. "We decided to host the meal at Vincent Hall, which is located in the Catholic Charities building, formerly the St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage. This location is steeped with history for St. Vincent de Paul and the city of Chicago."

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul began its mission in 1857 and is Chicago's oldest charity. Feeding people is a staple of the Society's mission, but its volunteers do much more for the needy in their communities, which are located throughout Cook and Lake counties. Every year, its volunteers help nearly half a million people with food, clothing, furniture, medical and dental assistance and much more.

“The need in our community is big,” said Minaglia. Especially, when it comes to food and [rent, utility, car repairs, etc.] payments of any sort. Fortunately, we have a sufficient amount of food due to a couple of recent food drives, which the parishioners of St. James have been very gracious to support.”

Saturday's lunch may not be a daily occurrence, but the assistance St. Vincent de Paul offers to community members every day is quite unique.

“We go out and visit our friends in need at their homes, we don't have them come to us,” said Minaglia. “We've been able to help people with small bills, and of course we help with referrals to other organizations. We do partner with other are SVdP conferences and together we have been able to help more people.”

To learn more about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago or to donate, please visit www.svdpchicago.org.