From the Pittsburgh Catholic:

St. Philip students have a long tradition of helping the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the parish by collecting food items, clothing and Christmas gifts for their ministry. This year, however, the students have taken their partnership with the St. Vincent de Paul Society to a new level by helping with the preparation and distribution of their donations. The society members began the school outreach with a special program in the church on the life and work of St. Vincent de Paul and the continuation of his legacy through the modern-day society,

Then came an invitation to join more closely in the work of the society with a call to participate in the Love Walk for The Poor to collect food and funds to help with the hungry.

St. Philip Middle School students were also encouraged to join in the monthly loading of trucks with food, clothing and household items for our parish mission in Tunnelton, West Virginia. Student volunteers stepped up to assist in loading special trucks with winter coats and garments for that mission.

In November and December, St. Philip School collected toiletries with each grade bringing in a particular item such as toothpaste, brushes, combs and soap for the homeless. Student volunteers then filled backpacks with the donations to be distributed through Duquesne University to those in need. The children will continue to bring food donations to each First Friday school Mass with plans underway to have student volunteers help in the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s parish food pantry by sorting and categorizing food donations.

By springtime there is hope to establish a Junior St. Vincent de Paul Society within the school community. The overarching goal is to acquaint the children with the needs of those close to home, demonstrate the way in which the St. Vincent de Paul Society addresses those needs, and provide a means through which students can personally help with this work.

Bring your high school or college student ID with you when shopping at St. Vincent de Paul to receive a 10% discount on your purchases.

Don’t forget, tell the cashier you want to ROUND UP. We will round your total up to the nearest dollar. Your donation will go directly to people in need of utility assistance in the month of January.

Round up in January

From the St. Philip’s bulletin:

Raindrops kept falling on their heads on Sunday, October 6th, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of the St. Philip Parish community who joined in the Friends of the Poor Walk. Participants in the Walk, sponsored by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, paraded with their banner through sections of Crafton, Ingram, Sheridan, and Crafton Heights. The Walk was intended to increase our communities’ awareness of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and its desire to help our neighbors in need. Upon completion of their walk, students and their parents were treated to a pizza party that was hosted by the Religious Education program.


We were blessed with support from our parish priests, the CCD staff, the St. Philip School administration and teachers, Mike Calorie, Director of Conference Formation for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Central Council of Pittsburgh, and the school crossing guards who loaned us their crossing guard attire and stop signs. The more than 40 walkers represented a cross-section of our parish community. A good time was had by all! We truly appreciated this support for our first parish walk.


Special kudos to Mary Ann Garfold; Cathy Huth; the parents and parishioners; our local sponsor, Wolbert Auto Body and Repair; Walk coordinators Dian Perkins and Rose Musser; and to all who purchased raffle tickets to support our neighbors in need.


Speaking of which, it’s not too late to purchase Friends of the Poor raffle tickets!  The grand prize is $1,500 and all of the proceeds from the tickets stay in our parish to help our friends in need.  Tickets are $5 each. Please call or email us if you would like to purchase a ticket. The drawing will be held on November 16.

This week, your generous donations enabled us to assist three households with furniture and appliances, including two beds, four dressers, a kitchen table and chairs, a washer and a dryer.  May God bless you for your continued generosity toward our organization.


If you would like to make a monetary donation or a donation of $10 Giant Eagle gift cards, please place your donation in one of the poor boxes or mail them to the parish office at 114 Berry Street.  If you would like to make a donation of furniture or household goods, please call or text our hotline at 412-444-8140 or email us at svdp.saint.philip@gmail.com to arrange a pickup. If you would like to donate clothing, shoes or accessories, you can call, text or email us to arrange a pickup, or your donation can be placed in the blue bins in front of the Hope House at St. Philip. Please do not place any other items in those bins or leave anything on the sidewalk.  Also, we are always looking for volunteers! If you’d like to join us in helping our friends in need, please call, text or email us or stop by one of our meetings, which occur every Tuesday evening at 6:30pm in the Hope House located on the St. Philip campus.


As always, if you, or someone you know, is in need of assistance, please call or text our hotline at 412-444-8140 or email us at svdp.saint.philip@gmail.com.

Elista can be heard on 100.7 FM (WBZZ-FM) M-F from 10a to 2p. As a fan of thrift store shopping, Elista visits St. Vincent de Paul regularly. Here’s here latest blog …

“I love shopping at St. Vincent de Paul! It’s always a fun shopping adventure…

I’ve found everything from antique brass candlesticks (sweet décor for my wedding) to unique flower pots on our back deck.

Let’s see what we found this month!

SO MANY WEDDING THINGS 🙂

Now we just gotta whip out the gold spray paint!

LOVE this trendy purse!

I even found this ballin’ outfit for my fiance! (name brands too)

I’m obsessed with this cute champagne footrest!

By the way if you are looking for a mattress, maybe for a spare bedroom, they have a wide selection of BRAND NEW mattresses at SVDP!

Give us all the beauty products!

If you happen to see something you want on their Facebook, you can call the store to purchase it over the phone!

You know what else brings me joy? Cleaning out my closet and donating to our neighbors in need, at St. Vincent de Paul!

They provide clothing, furniture, food vouchers, rent and utility assistance for local Pittsburgh residents in need!

So not only are you helping out our neighbors in need by purchasing items at SVDP, but you’re also helping by donating your stuff!

Find a location near you here!

St. Vincent de paul, Neighbors helping neighbors.

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