Love thy brother st. vincent de paul - st. stephen church-907
1. LOVE
THY
BROTHER
Day of service for
St. Vincent de PaulSt. Stephen Church
October 21 st , 2013
2. St. Stephen’s Rectory, the site of our service project. We
opened its doors to serve a diverse community with
many needs.
3. Love Thy Brother
We are Team Love Thy
Brother and we served
St. Vincent de Paul
Society by distributing
snack packs, bags of
groceries, bus tokens,
shelter vouchers and
financial assistance with
utilities and rent.
5.
Who
does
Love
Thy
Brother
help?
The
people
we
help
come
on
foot
or
by
bicycle
with
the
most
basic
and
urgent
needs.
Some
are
hungry,
some
need
shelter,
some
are
on
the
verge
of
eviction
or
the
loss
of
electricity.
11. Robert
Robert was grateful for a
shelter voucher and said,
“I’m trying to get housing. I
can only find work
sometimes.”
12. Bridgett and her two children
We contribute
assistance with
utilities and
groceries, enabling
her to provide a safe
and stable
environment for her
children. She is very
proud that her son is
an excellent
student.
13. Our Hope
-‐ Provide
shelter
vouchers
-‐ Expand
financial
help
-‐ Continue
and
expand
food
distribution
14. “Truly,
I
tell
you,
whatever
you
did
for
one
of
the
least
of
these
brothers
and
sisters
of
mine,
you
did
for
me.”
Matthew
25:40
15. Who
did
you
serve
and
what
did
you
accomplish
that
day?
As
Team
Love
Thy
Brother,
we
served
the
St.
Vincent
de
Paul
Society,
a
Catholic
lay
organization
committed
to
helping
the
less
fortunate
members
of
our
society.
We
met
at
St.
Stephens
Rectory,
which
is
located
in
an
economically
mixed
parish
with
many
below
the
poverty
line.
Twice
weekly
the
doors
are
opened,
welcoming
those
who
arrive
on
foot
or
by
bicycle
requesting
food,
transportation
to
search
for
work,
emergency
rent
and
utility
assistance
and
shelter
vouchers.
Those
we
serve
find
themselves
in
desperate
straits
for
a
variety
of
reasons:
they
may
be
victims
of
domestic
violence,
military
veterans
suffering
from
post-‐traumatic
stress,
men
or
women
battling
mental
illness
or
substance
abuse,
or
those
whose
formerly
solid
lives
have
been
fractured
by
natural
disasters
or
economic
difficulties.
On
our
service
day,
we
welcomed
them
and
distributed
snack
packs
(bottled
water,
crackers,
fruit,
breakfast
bars),
bags
of
groceries,
shelter
vouchers
and
bus
tokens.
We
interviewed
and
determined
need
for
those
requesting
rent
and
utility
assistance,
to
be
paid
directly
to
landlord
or
utility.
Prior
to
2013,
the
St.
Vincent
de
Paul
Society
limited
financial
assistance
to
a
maximum
of
$100.00
annually
per
household,
due
to
lack
of
funding.
Prior
to
2013,
we
were
also
unable
to
afford
shelter
vouchers,
although
we
recognized
a
dire
need.
However,
as
a
result
of
the
generous
prize
we
received
from
the
Super
Service
Challenge
last
year,
we
have
been
able
to
provide
shelter
vouchers
and
slightly
increased
rent
and
utility
assistance
to
more
households.
It
was
gratifying
to
provide
these
services
to
approximately
30
men,
women
and
children,
but
the
need
continues
and
grows.
16. What
is
your
team's
plan
for
an
ongoing
relationship
with
this
charity?
Our
team's
plan
is
to
continue
our
work
to
enable
the
poor
and
suffering-‐regardless
of
their
faith
and
physical
boundaries-‐to
gain
the
foothold
needed
to
begin
rebuilding
their
lives
by
fulfilling
some
of
their
most
basic
and
urgent
needs.
More
specifically,
our
volunteer
ministry
will
serve
the
St.
Vincent
de
Paul
Society
twice
a
week
by
providing
food,
bus
tokens,
shelter
vouchers
and
limited
rent
and
utility
assistance
to
our
most
needy
brothers
and
sisters.
Our
service
day
highlighted
the
gap
between
the
number
of
people
we
were
able
to
help
and
the
number
of
people
needing
assistance.
In
addition
to
this
ongoing
twice-‐weekly
service,
our
volunteer
group
will
continue
to
purchase
food
for,
prepare
and
serve
a
community
meal
feeding
about
200
people
twice
monthly
at
the
Rebuild
Center
on
Tulane
Avenue.
We
also
provide
Thanksgiving
and
Christmas
food
baskets
with
gifts
during
the
holidays.
These
activities
help
to
raise
the
visibility
of
our
service
and
enable
other
volunteers
to
contribute
to
this
important
work.
17. What
would
your
charity
do
if
they
won
part
of
the
prize
money?
How
much
money
would
it
take
to
get
it
done?
Additional
funds
would
enable
SVDP
to
continue
expanding
this
ministry
within
and
outside
our
parish
boundaries
to
include
the
surrounding
parishes
of
Blessed
Trinity,
St.
Katherine
Drexel,
and
St.
Alphonsus
which
are
extremely
poor
and
capable
of
offering
little,
if
any,
assistance
to
the
poor.
It
is
almost
impossible
for
the
needy
people
we
are
serving
to
move
forward
in
bettering
their
lives
and
their
children's
lives
if
they
are
hungry
and
without
shelter.
Many
desperately
need
shelter
vouchers,
which
we
could
continue
to
provide
with
additional
funds.
We
would
expand
our
distribution
of
snack
packs,
bus
tokens
and
groceries.
The
prize
money
would
enable
us
to
increase
not
only
the
amount
of
emergency
financial
help,
but
the
number
of
people
we
are
able
to
assist.
We
believe
we
are
serving
the
neediest,
most
overlooked
segment
of
our
population
in
the
most
necessary
and
fundamental
way.
We
cannot
overemphasize
the
importance
of
helping
them
achieve
some
measure
of
basic
stability
in
order
to
forge
better
lives
for
themselves
and
their
families.
As
volunteers
participating
in
this
service
we
have
also
been
transformed
by
being
able
to
help
those
who
need
it
most.
We
are
a
group
deeply
committed
to
continuing
this
work
and
expanding
our
impact
because
there
is
so
much
need
right
here
at
our
rectory
door.
18. We
are
requesting
$22,710
for
shelter
vouchers,
bus
tokens,
food
items,
and
financial
assistance.
If
we
are
so
fortunate
to
receive
an
award,
we
would
spend
it
accordingly:
Shelter
vouchers
60/month=720/yr
@
$8.00
each
$5,760
Bus
Tokens
10/month=120/yr
@
$1.25
each
$
150
Snack
Packs
160/month=1920/yr
@
$2.50
each
$
4,800
Financial
assistance
10
families/month=120/yr
@
$100
each
$12,000
Total
$22,710
