The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide Christian community; founded in Paris in 1833, by a group of young Catholic lay people and an older person, who joined together to create the first Conference. The society has been Catholic from its origins. It remains an international Catholic voluntary organization of lay people, men and women.
The vocation of the Society’s members, who are called Vincentians, is to follow Christ through service to those in need. St. Vincent de Paul serves those in need regardless of creed, ethnic or social background, health, gender, or political opinions.
Almost every Catholic Church has a St. Vincent de Paul Conference. All the church conferences in our area belong to the Portland Council. Ascension conference has been active for many years. There are approximately 40 active members. Some members volunteer 10-20 hours per month and some only 1 or 2 hours per month. There is no specific requirement. We receive our money from donations and fundraisers. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.
Some of our volunteer opportunities include:
People needing assistance call the Portland Council Office of St. Vincent de Paul requesting help with food, utility, rent, etc. The Portland Council notifies the Parish Conference where the client lives. Marylee Stahl currently receives the requests for rent and utility assistance. The food requests are faxed to the Ascension Food Pantry where clients can pick up their food box on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Currently we can provide emergency food boxes only once per month per family. Rent and utility assistance is usually provided only once per year.
Ascension parishioners are sometimes provided services by notifying Sharon Grigar at the Ascension parish office or through a St. Vincent de Paul member.
We welcome new members and would love to have participation from the Hispanic community. Thank you – Gayle Pizzuto, President, SVDP Ascension Conference
“This institution is an equal opportunity provider.”
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.