THE BEST KEPT SECRET
WHO WE ARE: The Society of St. Vincent de Paul serves its neighbors throughout the world today. The local chapter, St. Sebastian Conference of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP), is located on 5480 85th Street, in the Wabasso area of Vero Beach. Our Conference is mainly composed of volunteer Christians and is governed by a Board of Directors. We were incorporated in the State of Florida in 1992. We serve the people of Indian River County and southern Brevard County. Our SVdP serves everyone without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or other political or social classifications, as do all the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul.
WHAT WE DO: Our St. Vincent de Paul provides the following Client Aid Services: The Food Pantry is open twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, serving usually 50 plus family requests for food each day. The food is purchased from the Treasure Coast Food Bank at a subsidized cost. Food is also donated by various churches, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, and individuals. Because of recent financial and demographic changes, the demand for food has greatly increased. Therefore, additional food is now being purchased from local community businesses. Client Aid is the other major service we provided to our neighbors in need. People may request financial assistance for limited medical expenses, utility payments, clothing, emergency housing, and household goods. We try to help the homeless with tents, ground covers, sleeping bags, food and clothing. We measure our success by the 4,530 families we have provided our services to this year.
Our Thrift Store provides most of the funds necessary to operate the services of our SVdP. The community donates saleable goods to the store and the profits are used to finance the Food Pantry and Client Aid programs. Financial donations are also needed to help fund these programs.
THE FUTURE: Prevention is the way of the future for our St. Vincent de Paul. We will continue to meet the direct relief of the needy but will refocus our client assistance for the prevention of poverty whenever possible. Many clients lack the necessary skills to enter and be successful in today’s marketplace. Working with our neighbor/clients to acquire those work related personal and technical skills is our goal.
THE NEED: Our Food Pantry and Client Aid Programs occupy about 500sf of the Thrift Store building, which is in a 100-year-old factory building, and cannot be expanded. Client Aid interviews are conducted in the Food Pantry area. There is no private area to conduct confidential interviews. Working and food storage space is also extremely limited. There is no space to conduct computer and life skills training. The number of families receiving our services has increased more than twice within the past ten years. We have simply outgrown our current facility.
THE PLAN: We need to construct a building on land we recently purchased adjacent to the existing structure. The plan includes the design and construction of the building, required parking area, landscaping, water retention, and furnishing of the facility. The building will house private counseling offices, reception area, bathroom facilities, a multipurpose room to be used for job training and life skill classes, the Food Pantry and required storage area. Please help us to put a handout to help others.
We are reaching out to potential donors, associations, charitable trusts, fraternal and service organizations, churches, schools, and businesses who would like to partner with our St. Vincent de Paul to continue to help the people we serve. Last year we provided about $650,000 of financial help. SVdP is an IRS 501 (c) (3) Tax Exempt Charitable Organization. Any questions can be addressed by leaving a message at 772-589-3338.
Please make checks payable to SVdP “Building Fund” or “Food” and mail to SVdP 5480 85th St., Vero Beach, FL 32967. Thank you for whatever you can afford, we are sincerely grateful.
