The St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Mary’s Parish
Most Holy Redeemer Conference
 
General: The Society is a charity.  The Society has been Catholic from its origins.  It remains an international Catholic voluntary organizational of lay people, men and women.  Work consists entirely of aiding the poor and suffering, no form of charity is foreign to us. Examples include assistance paying to restore electricity, avoiding eviction in special circumstances, recovery house expenses for those leaving drug or alcohol rehabilitation when all money is gone and no family assistance is forthcoming.  Other examples include help with food, medicine, work-related transportation, tuition, and in some cases funerals.  

The Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (Employer ID 52-2181931), signifying that it is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Maryland as exempt from income tax. We receive funds from direct donations, a portion of the poor box collection at St. Mary’s Church and St. John Neumann Church, and from a special appeal at Thanksgiving and Christmas to support the Holiday Sharing Program.

Mission: Inspired by Gospel values, the SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT de PAUL, a Catholic lay organization, leads women and men to join to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.
 
Current membership:  Nearly seventy St. Mary’s Parishioners.  These parishioners known as Vincentians comprise the Conference which was first founded in 1971 and was officially “Aggregated”/named by International headquarters in Paris as the Most Holy Redeemer Conference in 2010.

Vincentian Vocation:  The vocation of the Society’s members is to follow Christ through service to those in need and so bear witness to His compassionate and liberating love.  Members show their commitment through person-to-person contact. Vincentians serve in hope.

 Regular activities: 
  1. Outreach meets twice a week.   Meetings are Monday evening 6:00 - 8:00 pm in and Wednesdays 1:00 - 3:00 pm in the Neumann Room at St Mary's.  During these meetings we start with prayer and then meet face-to-face with those seeking assistance.
  2. Systemic Change Program.  The “Systemic Change” Program assists people in a longer-term program to improve their life circumstances and become self-sustainable.  Most of our Systemic Change cost is for skill training tuition and child care to enable attainment of sustained employment and self-sufficiency.  Examples include Certified Nursing Assistant, Welding Certification, Commercial Driver’s License and HVAC Certification.
Special Events:
  1. Winter Relief -  In late January, nearly 25 homeless are sheltered, fed and entertained for seven days at Seelos Hall.  Vincentians are involved in planning and coordinating the effort, and in addition they coordinate help from over 200 St. Mary’s Parishioner volunteers.
  2. Food Drives for the Lighthouse - Twice yearly (April & September) we conduct food drives in support of The Lighthouse Shelter in Annapolis.  The Lighthouse feeds people from the community every week day, has bag lunches available everyday and at night and serves meals for their residents.  The food drives normally result in 400 to 600 bags of non-perishable goods per drive.
  3. Winter survival clothing/Equipment Drive – Conducted in late fall, a drive for winter hats, gloves, tents, tarps, batteries, other camping supplies for homeless people living outdoors.  These items are then delivered directly.
  4. Holiday Share Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner - purchasing, preparing, and delivering to over 500 local families in need.  At Christmas, the Society coordinates the planning, drop-off and delivery of gifts (clothing and toys) to children under 13 years old.
  5. Dinners for the Light House - Plan, prepare & serve dinner for the Light House Residents the 3rd Tuesday each month.