Happy Memorial Day from St. Vincent de Paul

May we never forget the sacrifices many brave men and women have given over the years.  In honor of Memorial Day, the Society's three thrift stores in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oxnard will be CLOSED TODAY.

Only 1 week remains. Don't miss out. Register today!

ONLY 1 weeks remains until THE HIKE of the year!

Don't be left out. Join today! Adults, children and pets on leashes can participate in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's 2nd Annual Hike for the Homeless at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 28 at beautiful Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

Sign up NOW to help the Society's new family housing program for women and children (to open later this year) and the Cardinal Manning Center (shelter). Hike individually or as a team. The group that has the most paid hikers will win $1,000. YOUR Hike can literally help change a life!

If you can't make it in person be a virtual hiker. For more information or reservations, visit http://www.hike4thehomeless.com.

Society's 2nd Annual Hike for the Homeless is April 28

ONLY 2 weeks remain until the HIKE of the year! Don't be left out. Join today!

Adults, children and pets on leashes can participate in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's 2nd Annual Hike for the Homeless at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 28 at beautiful Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Sign up NOW to help the Society's new housing program for women and children (to open later this year) and the Cardinal Manning Center (shelter). Hike individually or as a team. The group that has the most paid hikers will win $1,000.

YOUR Hike can literally help change a life! If you can't make it in person be a virtual hiker. For more information or reservations, visit http://www.hike4thehomeless.com.

Feel free to view a short video from last year's hike that aired on KCAL 9 News.

Participate in or Sponsor the Society's 2nd Annual Hike for the Homeless!

A FUN hike for adults, children and pets on leashes at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 28 at beautiful Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Sign up NOW or be a SPONSOR to help the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's new housing program for homeless women and children (to open later this year) and the Cardinal Manning Center. YOUR Hike can change a life! For more information or reservations, visit http://www.hike4thehomeless.com.

Feel free to view a short video from last year's hike that aired on KCAL 9 News.

Words of Society's founder still ring true today for SVdP's outreach

What sets the Society of St. Vincent de Paul a part from other charitable organizations is its home visits from the Society's close to 2,000 year-round 'Vincentian' volunteers in the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara. The word home doesn't always mean a residence, though. It sometimes means a car parked alongside a street, a person living in cardboard box under a bridge, etc.

The following are quotes from the Society's founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853), that still hold true today in St. Vincent de Paul's outreach to ALL people:

“Let us do without hesitation whatever good lies at our hands”.

“Yours must be a work of love, of kindness, you must give your time, your talents, yourselves”.

“We must do what is agreeable to God. We must do what Our Lord Jesus Christ did when preaching the Gospel. Let us go to the poor. Let us learn of Him”.

“Knowledge of the poor and needy is not gained by pouring over books or in discussions with politicians, but by visiting the slums where they live, sitting by the bedside of the dying, feeling the cold they feel and learning from their lips the causes of their woes”.

TOMORROW is the day to meet an L.A. Dodger and save BIG for Father's Day

~ Click image to enlarge.

Memorial Day schedule for Society stores in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oxnard

In observance of Memorial Day, the Society's main store in Los Angeles will only be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, our other two store locations in Long Beach and Oxnard will be closed.

Let us remember the true meaning to this special day - a day of remembrance for the men and women who have died while serving in the American military. May we always keep their dreams alive.

What is Charity?

"You will find out that Charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the full basket. But you will keep your gentleness and your smile. It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor, always smiling and good-humored. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting master you will see. And the uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them."

~ St. Vincent de Paul