Shop Tall Cathy’s Closet at Society of Saint Vincent de Paul

This denim jacket and Treat People With Kindness shirt

Giving Tuesday – Take an Unselfie

We wanted to take a moment to share another way you can participate this Giving Tuesday! We’re asking you to help us spread the word about the great work done by local St. Vincent de Paul volunteers and conferences by posting an “unselfie” on Facebook or Instagram over the next few days.

What exactly is an unselfie?

An unselfie is just like a selfie, but with a generous twist. All you have to do is take a photo of yourself holding a sign that tells your followers why you’re supporting the Society of St. Vincent de Paul this Giving Tuesday.

It’s a quick way to get the word out about the good work of St. Vincent de Paul and why it matters to you.

You can participate in our unselfie movement by following these steps.

1. Download & print the unselfie sign from our website (Unselfie Flyer):  If you don’t have a printer at home, feel free to make your own version!
2. Write your reason for supporting St. Vincent de Paul on your sign.
3. Take a picture of yourself with your sign (or have another member of your household take the picture for you).
4. Post your photo on Facebook or Instagram. Feel free to tag us @svdppitt and we’ll share your picture on our page as well!

Even as we practice physical distancing, we can remain connected through kindness and generosity.

This Giving Tuesday, we hope you’ll join us in spreading the word about the work of our dedicated volunteers and local conferences as they continue to provide vital assistance to our neighbors in need.

St. Philip Food Drive Update

An excerpt from the St. Philip parish bulletin:

As Catholic Christians, we know to trust in God and He will provide for our needs.  Even though we have faith, it can be a scary proposition at times.  When a former St. Philip School and current Bishop Canevin student approached us about holding a food drive, we were cautiously optimistic about the response that we would get, but the doubts still lingered.  Since it was the first time that we held an event like this, we had no idea what to expect, especially in light of the fact that so many are struggling financially due to the pandemic.  Would all the planning and preparation be for naught?

St. Philip food drive

Our Lord once again proved why we should always trust in Him and do so without doubt!  The food drive that was held on August 15th and 16th to benefit our food pantry was an incredible success!  Not only did the community come through with extremely generous donations, but we also had plenty of volunteers both at our drive-thru event and at the Masses to collect and process the donations.

We collected approximately 365 bags of donations over the course of the weekend.  Approximately 100 vehicles dropped off donations at our drive-thru event.  The donations that we collected were checked for expiration dates (following guidelines from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank), sorted by type, and boxed for use in our pantry.  We also collected monetary donations not only over the weekend of the food drive, but also through the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Critical Needs Alert one-day fundraiser that was held on August 19th.  In total, we received $6,092 in donations, and expect to receive approximately $1,446 in matching funds from the Pittsburgh Foundation, for a grand total of $7,538!  With the discounted prices at which we are able to purchase food from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, these monetary donations will go a long way toward supporting our friends in need!

Collecting food at St. Philip

We cannot begin to thank everyone involved enough.  We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to anyone who donated, prayed for the success of the event, or took time out of their busy schedules to collect and process donations.  We would like to give special thanks to the young man who is the reason this event happened, and the Vincentians who helped to organize with him.  He saw a need, stepped up, took action, and his hard work yielded a truly bountiful harvest.  Please know that whatever your involvement, you played a big part in helping the 71 families that we deliver food to each month, as well as anyone else who reaches out to us in need of food.  The event was such a success that we hope to make it an annual event!

If you would like to volunteer or become a Vincentian, we are looking for those individuals that would like to help others in their time of need.

SVdP’s Annual Golf Outing

Join St. Vincent de Paul on Friday, July 10 for the our 22nd Annual Golf Outing. This year’s event will be held at the Fox Run Golf Course.

8 a.m. – Registration

9 a.m. – SHOTGUN START

4 MAN SCRAMBLE … $95 PER PERSON

INCLUDES COFFEE, JUICE, DONUTS & LUNCH

COMPLETE BUFFET AFTER GOLF

BEER & POP & BRUSTER’S ICE CREAM ALL DAY

Checks Payable to: Beaver County SVDP

Please Pay By Friday July 3, 2020

Mail to: John Dudo, Director 306 Mc Kinley Road, Beaver Falls, PA  15010

Questions contact John at: 724-384-1212 or johnjdudo@gmail.com

FIRST HOLE IN ONE ON A DESIGNATED PAR THREE WINS A New Automobile Compliments of  McElwain Motors

Shirts compliments of W.D Wright Construction

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

GOLD SPONSOR – $1,500
SILVER SPONSOR – $1,000
BUSINESS SPONSOR – $400
HOLE SPONSOR – $25

All business sponsors and above will be entitled to enter a foursome and will receive a Hole Sponsorship and special recognition at the awards presentation and in our program.

BY GIVING GIFT CERTIFICATES OR GIFTS FOR OUR PRIZES AND RAFFLE

The St Vincent de Paul Society is a nonprofit organization of volunteer men and women that give help to the poor, the homeless, the elderly, the sick, the shut-ins and those in need. We spend over $100,000 annually in Beaver County in addition to numerous hours of volunteer work. All money raised is used to help those in need.

Part of the proceeds of the SVDP Golf Outing help to provide assistance to the Maison Fortune Orphanage in Hinche Haiti, which we help to sponsor. Additional information about the orphanage can be found at: www.mfofoundation.org.

Kraken Apothecary now sold at St. Vincent de Paul

If you’ve visited St. Vincent de Paul’s Monroeville store recently, you may have noticed a new product line … Kraken Apothecary. We met Steph (owner of Kraken Apothecary) at our ReUse Fest in Coraopolis in November 2019. She had just added product to our Monroeville store … and then we closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As our state reopens, Kraken Apothecary will be in more of our Pittsburgh area stores but we thought you should know more about the products.

A little bit about me and the business: I began studying herbalism in 2008 and making my own products in 2010 after making a major lifestyle change, due to endometriosis, and not being able to find suitable replacements for the products I had been using. As I purged my home of petroleum by products, harsh chemicals, overly scented items, and hormone disruptors I became aware of how far they invade our everyday lives. I made them for myself and noticed the changes in how I reacted to things and how much less inflammation and headaches I was having. I started to give my products to friends and family for their birthdays or holidays. Eventually they started getting fed up waiting and pushed me to pursue my dream of owning my own business. I took the plunge in 2018 and have loved every second of it. It is the most terrifying and incredible thing I’ve ever done.

Products:
All of my products are made with sustainability in mind. Anything I do not grow myself I find from other small businesses, preferably local and/or women owned. Everything except my cleaning products are made using the cycles of the moon and all natural ingredients. I don’t use any artificial or added fragrances, anything you can smell in my products is the actual added plant product itself, with the exception of my cleaning products. The toilet bombs, juniper scrub, and Soapnut spray do contain added sustainable essential oils.

Almost all of my products come with the names of the old gods from various religions. I love being able to bring their names and stories forth so they aren’t forgotten. So much of the myth, folklore, and beliefs get lost in modern times.

Healing:

Yarrow styptic $3- powdered yarrow is an astringent that stops bleeding

Eir $12- Wound salve that speeds healing

Nox $14- Arnica lotion for getting rid of bruises faster

Dhanvantari $17- disinfecting liniment used for small cuts, bug bites, fungus, etc

Io $20 – Oil for achy chests

Beauty:

Prende $4.50- Lip scrub, comes in lavender and coffee, removes dead skin on lips

Brigid $12-20- Sun face oil. Made for being in the sun as a protectant against sun damage

Shave lotion $8-16- Used for regular lotion or for shaving. Meant to replace soap/detergent based shaving products

Selkie Spray $6-12- A salt spray for hair, adds texture.

Odin $12-20- Beard oil used for stopping face itch, softening facial hair, and very slight fragrance.

Cleaning/Household:

Soapnut spray $18- used on counter tops, tables, stove tops to wipe off goop, spots and over spray

Juniper scrub $6-24- Used to scrub down tubs, sinks, showers

Spoonbutter $12- Used to hydrate wood products; spoons, cutting boards, butcher block countertops, etc

Toilet bombs $7- Used to clean the toilet. Drop one in toilet and let it fizz, scrub then flush

Cedar smudge stick $8- used for warding off negative energy, especially

Pet:

Hecate $6-18- Paw balm meant to prevent frostbite, salt burns, and hydrate dog paws