St. Vincent de Paul - Assistance and Dignity

Editor's note:
St. Vincent de Paul has been a recipient of Giving Circle funds for all three years of our grantmaking.  There's a reason.  Their straightforward and respectful approach to individuals and families in need has spoken to Circle members every year.  

Here is their report from the 2009-2010 Grantmaking Cycle.  
Anyone interested in volunteering or joining St. Vincent de Paul may contact Fran Trevisan at trevisan@moscow.com 
St. Vincent de Paul - Moscow Conference

Project: St Vincent de Paul 2010 Job Employment Grant
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide non-profit organization of lay Catholic men and women.  The members of St. Vincent de Paul in Moscow meet weekly in order to help local people in need. We visit anyone who requests our help from Latah County regardless of race, nationality, religion or sexual orientation on a person-to-person basis.  Great care is taken to preserve the dignity of the person served and we visit those in need in their homes.

Last year, 2010 we distributed over $40,000 dollars in emergency funds to families and individuals in Latah county, plus in-kind donations, such as used furniture, clothes, major appliances and even a few cars. We served over 500 people who requested our help. In the past 8 years we have provided for the basic needs of the poor – shelter, medical care, clothing, heating, transportation, medicine and food. 

The 2010 grant from THE CIRCLE: Moscow Women Giving Together was to fund employment challenges. Given the high rate of unemployment due to the ongoing economic downturn we requested these funds to support workers who were at risk of losing their jobs due to financial difficulties and work related expenses and to help job seekers with expenses necessary to find and maintain work.  Between April and December of 2010 we successfully distributed the grant fund of $4,500 to 33 households serving a total of 79 individuals including the children, elderly and other family members of workers. The allocation of funds were divided as follows:

Car Repair                                            $1478.62
Moving Expenses                                    784.81
Gasoline                                                  735.88
Transportation Expenses                            455.22
  (car registration, licenses, insurance)
Clothes, Tools, Work Supplies                     452.12
Communication (phone, internet)                 292.85
Childcare                                                 300.00

Total                                                    $4,500.00

Individual allocations ranged from $22.50 for car registration to $434.00 for moving expenses.  At times we partnered with other agencies, including the Hope Center, Community Action, and the Department of Social Services when the need was great.

Donations to support our work can be sent to:  St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 9888, Moscow, Idaho 83843

Anyone interested in volunteering or joining St. Vincent de Paul may contact Fran Trevisan at trevisan@moscow.com