So writes Arnie Simonse of the Vincentian Family Collaboration in West Virginia.ALMOST HEAVEN…
News from the St. Vincent de Paul Society
Conference of Southern West Virginia
IT’S AN OLD VINCENTIAN FAMILY STORY…
It’s not a new story for sure. The first chapter was written in the clogged streets of Paris in the early 1600’s by Vincent and Louise. Since then and as a result of their impetus, innumerable chapters have been written by thousands of people all over the world. Some were better known and put their special spin on the story like Blessed Frederick. And most were just regular folks whose names and deeds have been forgotten. But they all have one thing in common…all are members of this one big family dedicated to the poor…THE VINCENTIAN FAMILY.
So the story I’m about to tell is another old Vincentian story…the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, the homeless are sheltered…the poor hear the “good news” that someone cares for them. And all of you family members are characters playing your various parts in this story.
Snoopy would always start his story by saying: “It was a dark and stormy night…” For us Vincentians, though, it was a stormy day that brought devastating flood waters to our area of southern West Virginia on July 8, 2001. It was then that the Vincentian Family arrived to help. And from that first contact the St. Vincent de Paul Conference of Southern West Virginia was born on January 1, 2004. Nestled in a poor mountain county in the heart of Appalachia with only a handful of Catholics, the Conference started only through the generous and caring support of other Vincentian Family members. The word went out that our people needed help in so many ways…and the Vincentian Family responded! My, how you responded!
Thanks to the Vincentain Family, have our people been fed? Yes, by the thousands. The food pantry that we have overseen for the past two years feeds nearly 1,000 people each month. Your support has enabled us to buy not only needed supplemental food, but also personal care items that are not provided through Food Stamps. For example, next week we can provide 500 chickens for our needy thanks to a Pennsylvania SVdP Conference.
Thanks to the Vincentian Family, have our needy been clothed? Yes, by the thousands. At our warehouse and at the food pantry, clothing, especially infants’ and children’s, is distributed to families in need. Volunteers are constantly folding and hanging clothes of all styles and descriptions for folks to look through and take.
Thanks to the Vincentian Family, have our people been sheltered? Yes, a great number of families now have houses that are safe, secure and sanitary. The Conference gathers and evaluates the many requests for necessary home repairs. When volunteer groups come into the county on service trips, we coordinate these projects and often provide the building materials needed to complete the job.
Thanks to the Vincentian Family, does the list of help end there? No, it includes a host of other items…furniture, mattresses, household items, toys, books, refrigerators, bedding, diapers…etc….etc.
And all this only can happen because of all of you…the Vincentian Family working together to help people in need…people distant and unknown to you…people of various non-Catholic religious stripes…people who have probably never heard of Vincent de Paul.
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So first of all, thanks to all you Vincentian Family members for your continuing caring support. The good news is that you are there for us…the bad news is that the need is still here…perhaps greater than before.
And so, as we approach this Advent Season, we are hoping that your support will continue.
* Maybe some of the Conferences will domestically twin with us.
* Hopefully, various parts of the Vincentian Family will remain generous to us.
* Perhaps those of you who wish to send a special gift to friends this Christmas will send a donation to us in their name for continuing our ministry. We will be happy to send them a thank-you and tell them exactly how your gift in their name helped.
In any case, our message to you is the same…a deep felt thank you in the name of the many people you have helped us to help.
The Vincentian Family story has another chapter thanks to you…
Arnie Simonse, President
P.O. Box 1350
Pineville, WV 24874
304-732-8959
arnoldsimonse@aol.com
