As told by Susan de Queljoe, Director of Community Relations & Business Strategies, St. Vincent de Paul
We have a big problem here at St. Vincent de Paul in central and northern Arizona. Actually, it’s a good one. And you can help!
There are so many businesses in the Phoenix area and across the state that want to volunteer their time or donate funds to help the homeless and working poor, but they just don’t know how to initially get involved with St. Vincent de Paul.
Well, the easy answer is you can just have them call our Volunteer Services department at 602-261-6868 or Denise Brittain, Corporate Partnerships director at 602-850-6735. We’ll make sure they get a friendly guide to volunteer opportunities.
Another way to encourage people to become involved is to share stories about how other companies volunteer and donate. If you’re already one of these look for ways to make your efforts more visible. Again, I’m the director of community relations for SVdP, so a call to my office is often all it takes.
Here are a couple nice examples of community service in action.
Marco’s Pizza, a new pizza parlor, recently opened in Chandler and decided that for every pizza sold during their grand opening they would donate two dollars to SVdP.
Our sincere thanks to James Turner at Marco’s Pizza.
Upstart businesses like the pizza restaurant often get involved with St. Vincent de Paul because they witness other companies making an effort.
This summer, Basha’s raised $52,000 for SVdP with a peanut butter and jelly drive.
A simple peanut butter and jelly drive; amplified by their advertising and in-store communications.
Our thanks to Basha’s and the thousands of SVdP volunteers and donors.
How about you? Do you know any businesses with resources that can help Arizona citizens in need of life essentials like food, medical care or job training? Maybe you have an individual skill you can offer once a week? Let us know with a comment here or a phone call.
