Multi-Cultural Communities

St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Schools of Western Washington Partnership

Overview:  The Office for Catholic Schools is excited to continue our strong relationship with St. Vincent de Paul. We now have over 1,000 students, parents, and teachers visiting our Georgetown Food Bank & Community Service Center annually. We celebrate with you as St. Vincent de Paul celebrates 100 years of ministry to the poor.

Partnership Program Elements: We believe the partnership between St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) and the Office for Catholic Schools strengthens and inspires our catholic community, students, parents, teachers, and staff to deepen our response to the gospel call to serve our most vulnerable neighbors and to integrate this learning experience of encounter into the Catholic School’s faith formation curriculum. There are four core opportunities for engagement in this partnership:

1. Missionary Discipleship Institute – Grade 7
2. Immersion and Encounter Experience at SVdP Georgetown Food Bank & Community Service Center
3. Parent Ambassador Program (PAM) – Supports Authentic Family and Community Engagement too welcome, train, mentor, and serve cultural communities, especially the growing Hispanic/Latino families throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle.
4. Collecting Clothing & Goods for SVdP Thrift Stores.
   

   

Parent Ambassador Program: The Office for Catholic Schools (OCS) and St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle King County (SVdP) have formed a partnership to work toward making sure schools are accessible and welcoming to Latino– Hispanic families. Centro Rendu, a program created by SVdP in 2013, will manage the program for SVdP and work collaboratively with OCS. Centro Rendu provides Latino/Hispanic families with education, social services, and leadership development. Additionally, the PARENT AMBASSADOR MODEL PROGRAM is intended to help local schools welcome, train, mentor, and serve cultural communities, especially the growing Hispanic/Latino families throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle. Our PAM Booklet is available for your review:

Service Work with SVdP: We work with teachers in advance to divide the participating students into groups to tour and work with our struggling neighbors at our Georgetown Food Bank and Community Service Center. Our staff, school personnel, and parents supervise all activities. On the field trip to SVdP, students are briefed on SVdP programs, guided on tours of the Food Bank and Community Service Center, given supervised hands-on experience in service to the poor at our food bank, and are listened to in a post-service discussion about their perceptions and feelings of poverty and homelessness, and their experience serving those in need. This opportunity is available for students second grade and older.

Clothing Collection

Drives: There are two ways we can support these efforts. First, we bring a truck to the school campus and provide materials and donation attendants. As parents drop off their kids, they can also drop off their donations. Second, schools can run a Donation Drive Competition or Campaign. SVdP will schedule to pick-up the donations at the end of the competition or campaign. We will provide St. Vincent de Paul Donation Bins and materials for the drives.

SVdP Facts at a Glance

Person-to-Person Home Visits: Our 50 plus parish-based conferences, with 1,200 volunteers, made over 17,000 person-to-person visits. They helped prevent evictions, assisted with funds for utility shut-offs, distributed food, and more for over 40,000 neighbors.

Case Management: SVdP case management assists individuals overcome systemic barriers that perpetuate poverty including unemployment, histories of addiction, mental illness, inadequate education, and lack of affordable housing. Case management served 288 people.

Helpline: Our Helpline answered over 42,000 calls last year. For the past nine consecutive years, we have been the #1 referral source for calls for help coming to the King County 2-1-1 Crisis Line, receiving well over 100,000 calls in that time period, more than any of the other agency in King County.

Georgetown Seattle Food Bank: Our Georgetown Food Bank provides food and clothing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, to needy individuals and families. We provided nearly 1 million pounds of food to 3,665 families. Additionally, we served 1,094 homeless neighbors in our Friday distribution of food and services. We also offer a health assessment service in our Georgetown Food Bank. Last year we served over 1,000 neighbors with free blood pressure checks, medical advice, and other services.

Centro Rendu: Centro Rendu, an SVdP program in South King County, provides case management, literacy education, and advocacy to increase stability, parent engagement, self-empowerment, and civic involvement for Latino families. Centro Rendu served 958 individuals with direct services. This SVdP program is exhibiting great impact and receiving strong support as stated in this CCHD recognition.

Thrift Stores: Our five thrift stores generate revenues to fund programs. We receive funds from recycling of unsold items from stores and divert hundreds of tons of goods from landfills. The stores also provide transitional employment and our conferences provide SVdP thrift store vouchers to neighbors in need.

For more information, visit  https://svdpseattle.org/ or email communications@svdpseattle.org