Society of St. Vincent de Paul
To access the SVDP Database login, click here.
If you would like have the opportunity to make a real difference in someone’s life, and be the one who stops to help, please consider joining us for our Open House on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at 316 Duke Street from 7-9 p.m. For more information about our Open House, membership, or donating contact us at [email protected].
To download the Society’s newsletter, click here.
Members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (or “Vincentians” ) are men and women who strive to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to individuals in need. We are young and old. Our members come in every shade of skin color. Some of us are wealthy, some are financially poor, but all of us are blessed with an awareness that our blessings (time, talent or treasure) are to be shared with our brothers and sisters in need.
Meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7:30 p.m. at 316 Duke Street. The evening consists of spiritual reflection, discussions on how to carry out Christ’s call to help our neighbors in need, prayers for special intentions and a spirit of fellowship. Step forward and join others in helping the less fortunate.
Our Lord reminds us that whatever we do for the poor among us we do for Him. We hear Him with our hearts and minds, but the daily demands of life can leave us without the opportunity to respond in a most personal way. Your Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) is that opportunity.
The SVDP at the Basilica of Saint Mary has been serving the poor in Alexandria since 1868. We have a database of more than 5,500 individuals and families we have helped just in recent years. We are an emergency financial provider with a particular emphasis on keeping people in their homes and preventing evictions.
Our focus, like many of the charities in Alexandria, is addressing the needs of the “working poor.” Many low-income families are living paycheck to paycheck or on modest fixed incomes. Any unexpected expense can leave them unable to pay rent, utilities, or even buy food. We will be there to help them as we have always been.
We are unique among the charities in Alexandria in that we go to peoples’ homes when they call us for help. We listen to them and show them respect, friendship, and hope. We provide direct assistance but also coordinate help from other resources when the need is more than we can handle. From the “beginning” of the pandemic in March 2020 until today, SVDP has spent $638,949 on rent assistance, $136,135 for utilities, $135,320 for grocery cards and food, and more than $4,866 for medical and other essentials. A large percentage of these funds come from Basilica parishioners who want to help their neighbors and trust that the society will ensure that their donations are used as intended. We are currently spending more than $30,000 per month with about 65% of this aid going to rent assistance and eviction prevention and the remainder going primarily to utilities and medical assistance. We can all relate to dramatic rent increases in Alexandria so imagine the challenge for the working poor who struggle just to keep up with the cost-of-living in our area. We are an all-volunteer organization currently with just 23 members and in need of more.
We have no office or paid staff and our total overhead for the 2021-2022 fiscal year to date is less than 2%. Our volunteers work very hard to be good stewards of the monies we receive. In recent years, we have been fortunate to also receive federal and city grants to assist those who have been impacted by the Covid pandemic. On Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. we are having an Open House in the Lyceum at 313 Duke Street to talk about our work with anyone who might be interested in joining or donating funds to assist in our work. Please consider stopping by.
Listen to a podcast to learn more:
The password protection sections above are intended as a comprehensive reference for new members and refresher guide of all members of the parish’s Society of St Vincent de Paul.
Office on Women/Domestic Violence Program
Contact the apostolate leader Marietta Bernot by using this form.
The Basilica of Saint Mary
310 South Royal Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Main Offices
313 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Contact
Phone: 703-836-4100
Fax: 703-549-3605
Email Contact
Office Hours
Monday-Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
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