The mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is “a network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.”

 Matthew 25:40  ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Click here to see the National Impact of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Click here to see the Video from the Presentation at Our Annual SVdP Dinner for the Poor.

The video features our St. Mel Knitting/Sewing Group.

Our Main Activities

Home Visit: The Home Visit is the heart of our vocation; our opportunity to meet and to serve Jesus Christ in the person of His poor. We meet people face to face, hear their stories and help find solutions for their difficulties. Often, this means helping with rent, utilities or food.

Homeless Ministry: Every Monday and Thursday we take bagged lunches, toiletries and other supplies to the homeless.

Click here for more information on the Homeless Ministry.

Sewing/Knitting group: This group gathers to work every Tuesday after our meeting. They create a number of items for children, nursing home residents and the homeless which we distribute to where they’re needed in our area.

Christmas: We put together gift bags for youths in foster care or without permanent homes from SJUSD. We have gifts and meals programs to help families with young children.

Thanksgiving Baskets: We distribute a turkey and all the trimmings to needy families.

Also: There are fund-raisers, administrative work and special projects throughout the year that you can participate in.        

-There is no membership fee, no uniform and no hourly requirement. Some of our volunteers are in every week, some only occasionally and a few even work from home. Please consider coming to a meeting.  

-We meet in the St. Jude Rm. every Tuesday morning after Mass (9:30-10) to cover the last week’s activities. This is a great time to learn more.

-Every Third Thursday of the month we meet in the evening, 6pm-7 to cover overall planning and upcoming activities. This is an opportunity for our members who may still work or members who can’t make the Tuesday meeting to get an overview of our recent work. Our Spiritual Director, Deacon Dave Lehman leads us in a Vincentian reflection at this meeting.

What We Need:

-Volunteers: We need more! Can you spare a few hours a week, 4 hours once a month, any amount? 

-Funds: We rely primarily on donations from parishioners and other individuals to fund our efforts to help those in need. You can send or deliver a check payable to “St. Mel Parish” with SVDP in the memo line to the parish office at 4745 Pennsylvania Ave. Fair Oaks, CA 95628, or donate electronically to SVDP through Faith Direct. 

I’m happy to answer any of your questions.
Melissa McLeod, President, St Mel Conference SVDP
(916) 546-4236