Water is a huge need for our homeless guests to combat the summer heat. Without water, homeless individuals may face illnesses and death. Every day, thousands of guests visit our five Valley dining rooms and downtown campus. On days with heat advisory warnings, we open our facilities for extended hours to give our guests respite from the heat. However, many guests need bottled water to take with them when they go out to look for employment and housing.

Knowing this, a group of sixth graders at Blessed Pope John XXIII Catholic School and the parish, St. Bernadette, joined forces to hold two water drives for St. Vincent de Paul.

Those at Pope John XXIII Catholic School took part in the drive as part of their Faith in Action Service project. They were able to collect over 10,000 bottles of water.

St. Bernadette has taken part in water drives for several years. This year, the parish collected over 3,000 bottles of water.

The two drives’ combined effort exceeded 13,000 bottles of water (over 400 cases)!

We’re so appreciative of their efforts to help our dining room and ministry guests!

–

Help ensure that our homeless guests get enough water this year by donating water to our facilities or donate online.

If you’re interested in starting your own water drive, please contact our drive coordinator, Jamie Bethune, at jbethune@svdp-phx-az.org.

Christmas trees and holiday decorations are packed away by this time of the year, but did you know that for hundreds of Arizona families, Christmas would not have been possible without the help of four volunteers?

Dottie Sullivan has been coordinating St. Vincent de Paul’s Adopt-a-Family program for the last five years. The program allows individuals and families to “adopt” families in need by providing Christmas gifts and meals. It’s a program that has become a Christmas tradition for hundreds of families in Arizona and many times lifelong friendships are formed through the process.

Families who need help are first connected through their local SVdP food pantry, also called conferences. The conference volunteers, called Vincentians, visit the families to bring them emergency food boxes and also to gather information for the Adopt-a-Family program. The age and needs of each family member is recorded so that adopters know what types to gifts to get.

All of these family profiles then go to Dottie, who has the tedious task of matching them up with adopters.

“There are a lot factors to consider, like location, ages of kids and the size of the family. My goal every year is to make sure that families are matched up appropriately so that it’s a good experience for everyone,” Dottie said.

This year, three new volunteers helped Dottie with the intake process. Lauri Curran, Marti Engebretsen and Lola Espriella worked tirelessly for two weeks before Christmas to take calls from families wishing to adopt.

“Sometimes people want to adopt families with kids who are similar in age to their own so that their kids can help pick out the presents,” said Lauri. “I think it’s great that families want to do this together.”

Thanks to their efforts, more than 400 families were adopted last year, about 100 more than the year before. Many of the families adopted were working single moms who just don’t make enough to make ends meet, let alone have enough to buy Christmas presents for their kids.

“The real heavy lifters are the Vincentians and families adopting,” Dottie said. “We were just behind the scenes getting them connected to make Christmas happen for everyone.”

Want to make a difference in your community? Volunteer with us! Many opportunities are available, including food preparation in our kitchen, sorting donations in our thrift stores and even out-of-the-box opportunities like coordinating the Adopt-a-Family program. Fill out a volunteer application online or call our volunteer office at (602) 261-6886.

It’s not too late to adopt a family for Christmas.

We have a number of families who would really love your help this Christmas, with just one gift for each child and some groceries for a nice Christmas dinner.

You and your family, or your coworkers, club or church members can adopt a family living in poverty and create a really special, personal connection with them.

Thank you for thinking of those less fortunate this Christmas.

**Update: The program is now closed for the year. Thank you to all who participated to bring Christmas to families in need!**

This post brought to you by Sarah Hose and Christopher Von Wilczur, students at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and interns at SVdP.

After months of planning, hours of work from volunteers and generous donations, our dream playground is finally open for use!

The grand opening ceremony took place on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2012.

Before the ribbon cutting took place, a short video was shown that highlighted what took place during Build Day, and how this playground was created in only a matter of hours.

The playground required some time to set, and everyone has been very anxious to be able to finally play on this marvelous new addition to the campus. Well, that time finally came!

Adults and children alike were there to celebrate the grand opening, and finally do what they have been waiting for so long to do: PLAY!

For more pictures of the Grand Opening, check out our Facebook album!

This post is brought to you by Sarah Hose and Christopher Von Wilczur, students at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU and interns at SVdP.

Playgrounds are a staple of childhood, fostering friendships among children while encouraging them to use their imaginations and stay active. All children love playgrounds, but how many kids get the opportunity to have a say in what their playground will look like?

Thanks to Humana and KaBOOM!, the children of St. Vincent de Paul were given the amazing opportunity to draw out their dream playgrounds. On October 2nd, the children in St. Vincent de Paul’s Dream Center were invited to participate in a Playground Design Day, where they put their dreams to paper using markers and their imaginations. The children had monkey bars, slides, swing sets and even rockets in their visions of a dream playground. Most of the kids even included stick figure drawings of their family members and friends, emphasizing how excited they were to share their dreams with those who mean the most to them.

The drawings will be used to help design the playground that is being sponsored by KaBOOM!’s program and funded by Humana.

The playground will be multi-generational, so it will feature not only equipment for children, but also equipment for adults and seniors to use so that children and adults can be active and enjoy play together. The playground will be built by volunteers on November 17th, but volunteers are also urged to be a part of the entire process, from brainstorming to building.

Feel free to stop by anytime Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 6:00PM at 420 West Watkins Road (park in the north parking lot) to meet with Cynthia so she can share with you all the ways you can be involved.  If you have any questions before coming in, please email Cynthia at cbach@svdp-phx-az.org. Our volunteers always come through; know that you’ll be making a real difference in the community.

Photos by Sarah Hose

In the middle of July, when the temperature easily reached 111 degrees, 9-year-old Abbey Duvall was hard at work putting together a lemonade stand. She was not saving up for a new toy or a treat for herself – she was selling lemonade so that struggling families can have enough to eat. Abbey planned to donate all that she made to SVdP’s charity dining rooms.

“My mom is always helping the homeless so I wanted to try it too,” Abbey said. “I ended up loving it.”

After Abbey’s mother, Janet, posted her lemonade stand on Facebook, friends and family came to support Abbey. People were so moved by Abbey’s generous heart and hard-working spirit that they drove from Tempe and Chandler to Abbey’s Mesa home just to support her cause.

By the end of the day, Abbey raised $70 from lemonade sales and Janet matched the amount for a total of $140 for SVdP.

“I am so proud of her,” Janet said. “At such a young age, she knows that she can make a difference.”

Abbey donated $140 to SVdP from her lemonade stand. In addition, she collected 30 backpacks and 10 bags of clothing on her birthday for the homeless. Steve Zabilski, our executive director, personally met Abbey and her mom to thank them for their support! Look at those huge bags Abbey brought in! So many people will be blessed because of Abbey's compassion.

Following the success of her lemonade stand, Abbey decided that she wanted to do more to help her community. For her tenth birthday party in August, she asked her friends to bring backpacks and clothing donations instead of birthday presents. She collected 30 backpacks and 10 bags of various clothing and blankets for the homeless.

Abbey said she loves coming up with new ideas to help her community and hopes to inspire others to do the same.

Abbey, you certainly are an inspiration to both young people and adults alike! Thank you for showing us how a simple idea can make a BIG difference!

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ home plate recently got colorful makeovers for a good cause. A total of 49 home plates, each painted and decorated by celebrities, local artists and community members, are up for auction at www.homeplateproject.com through Aug. 31.

The Home Plate Project is a community fundraising effort created this year by D-backs employees to support local nonprofits. Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies is the presenting sponsor this year, donating $2,500 to the cause.

A home plate signed by D-backs players! Place your bid on this and other home plates at www.homeplateproject.com.

Ozanam Manor is honored to be selected as the first recipient of this exciting project! Ozanam Manor is SVdP’s transitional housing facility for homeless adults over age 50 and those with disabilities. With personal case management and mentoring, Ozanam Manor breaks the cycle of chronic homelessness by helping residents move into permanent apartment housing.

“Its great to work with the D-backs employees! This is a fun and creative way for the community to support our work with individuals experiencing homelessness,” said Mike Bell, director of Ozanam Manor. “What’s more, one of our residents got involved by creating a home plate for the auction.”

While the Home Plate Project is created by D-backs employees and not affiliated with the team, several D-backs players autographed home plates to support the cause. Other home plates include a plate with artwork hand drawn by Twilight star Robert Pattinson, an autographed plate from Jay Leno and other designs by celebrities and local artists.

“Ozanam Manor does incredible work,” said Tim Emory, Arizona Diamondbacks senior account manager of corporate partnerships, who is co-leading the project. “After taking the tour, we knew right away that we wanted to help.”

In fact, after touring Ozanam Manor, the D-backs employees not only knew they’d chose Ozanam Manor as the recipient, they wanted to help right away. While planning for the Home Plate Project, the team held a toiletries drive. Dental Dental donated more than 100 toiletry bags, including toothbrushes, dental floss and toothpaste.

“The Home Plate Project is a true community effort. Everyone, from artists to businesses pitched in to make it happen,” Tim said.

Here’s your chance to pitch in too! The home plates are available for auction through Aug. 31 at www.homeplateproject.com. Place your bid today to support Ozanam Manor!

Summer is a tough time for struggling families with children.  With school out, these children don’t have access to the free or reduced rate breakfast and lunch program.   And the Arizona summer heat drives up the household energy bills and cuts deeply into family food budgets.

The result is lots of kids who are not getting enough to eat on a daily basis.  In Arizona, one in three children are food insecure.  That’s 466,100 too many children!

That’s why the June Peanut Butter and Jelly Drive is so important.  This month-long drive is supported by 12News, Bashas’, Food City and other media to benefit the hungry children and families that St. Vincent de Paul serves each day.

It’s easy to participate.  Simply drop off your donations at any Bashas or Food City store in Arizona, make a donation at one of their cash registers or go online to www.stvincentdepaul.net to make a donation.

We need to ensure our children have adequate nutrition to stay healthy and are ready to learn when school starts again.

With only one week left in the drive, please act now.   Every jar of jelly and peanut butter will make a difference in a hungry child’s life.

Engelman Berger law firm brought 25 volunteers to the home of a great-grandmother and her family yesterday, and in a matter of hours completed one of the most extensive home makeover projects that Fresh Perspectives has undertaken. Channel 12 News ran a beautiful live story on the home makeover. The emotion and energy of these makeovers comes across so vividly in this piece. Click the photo below to view this moving video.

Live news coverage of a Fresh Perspectives home makeover

For more information about Fresh Perspectives or to get involved, contact Gabriela Bova at gbova@svdp-phx-az.org.

To see Nellie and her family viewing the other rooms in their home for the first time, click the photo below.

A Fresh Perspectives Home Makeover

St. Vincent de Paul’s volunteer home makeover program, Fresh Perspectives recently worked its magic on the home of Jessie and her granddaughter, Toni. Jessie had worked hard for her home, but then she was laid off and diagnosed with cancer, and keeping up with the house became an unmanageable burden.

Fortunately, Jessie was able to beat her cancer and is on her way back to regaining her health, however her house was in need of some help it feel like a home again. The FireStarters at Refinery Christian Church in Goodyear came to the rescue. With the FireStarters volunteering to help, Fresh Perspectives was able to clean the living area and clear out a room that was used for storage so that Toni could have something she had never had before – a room of her own.

When Toni saw her new room, she was moved to tears. She was so touched and grateful that a group of volunteers cared so much about her and wanted to make her and her grandmother’s lives better.

Many thanks to the FireStarters, Jessie and Toni are able to live with pride in their home again.

Fresh Perspectives is currently in need of:

• Pots and baskets for plants
• Gravel for walkways and patios
• Laminate flooring material and carpet

If you’d like to donate any of these items or would like to help fund other home makeover projects, contact Gabriela Bova at GBova@svdp-phx-az.org.