History The St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Anthony Marie de Claret parish was originally active from May 1975-September 1978. The conference president was Stella Gamez-Rodriguez. After a hiatus it was activated again on November 16, 1987. The conference president was Rosa Chamberlain. It was decided to form the organization because many people were coming to the church office for help. When the society first began, clients were helped in the church office and food was kept in the hall kitchen. A Black bag collection began in 1987 and those funds were used for clients. Later monthly meetings were held and home visit groups were formed but the Society did not have many members. Funds were scarce but the parish supported the Society. Under the leadership of Clara Rodriguez, Margaret McKinney, Ann Lopez, and Melissa Alaniz, meetings were held once a month and the Society began to grow. Home visits were instituted and the Society has become an integral part of the community. The conference was aggregated on September 11, 1995. Currently the society has 34 members including 3 young Vincentians. We conduct home visits Monday – Thursday year round. We partner with the Hays County Food Bank to distribute turkey boxes for Thanksgiving and we also hold an annual client dinner at Christmas where we invite the parishioners to provide gifts for those families we have helped throughout the year. The conference is very blessed to have some Vincentians who have supported the Society for many years, Diego Cortez has been a Vincentian for over 30 years and three members, Clara Rodriguez, Margaret McKinney and Mary Reyes have been members for over 18 years.
Funding
All funding for the St Vincent de Paul conference comes from the generous donations of our St Anthony's parishioners. Additional donations are occasionally received from individual donors. |
Helpful Phone Numbers:SAMC SVDP 512-738-2234
St Anthony's Church 512-268-5311 Hays County Food Bank 512-392-8300 Community Action 512-392-1161 Community Services 512-392-1161 x309 SVDP LinksResources:SVDP Coverage Map
Hays County Community Action - Hays County Services Tx Health and Human Services Benefits - Food/Health Care Assistance Safeplace - Domestic violence assistance |