Give the Gift of Hope this Holiday Season

Dear Supporter of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago,

With the holiday season quickly approaching, the call for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago and our volunteer members to help our Friends in Need is immense. The Society has been proudly serving in our local communities since 1857 and pray we can continue for many years to come. Most recently, we have been helping the migrants who have arrived in the Chicagoland area with only the clothes on their backs with personal hygiene kits, winter clothing, and backpacks containing essentials to keep them warm and healthy during the long winter months. Poverty and homelessness are not a new phenomenon for us. We answer calls for assistance every day - desperate people who have nowhere else to turn, people whose constant companions are fear and worry.

We understand that the past several years have been tough on everyone. With increased job loss and illnesses to inflation on gas prices, groceries, and daily essentials that continue to rise, we decide what to skip on the list of things we were going to buy. Some of us struggle to pay the rent while others are praying for a miracle to stay in their homes. You can be the miracle that allows a family to stay warm this winter season; the miracle that provides food to hungry children, coats, undergarments, and simple necessities to those who so desperately need it.

This past year, your support and generosity has allowed our Council to provide over thousands of dollars for rental and utility bill assistance to our friends in need. Added to the assistance given by our 80+ conferences throughout Cook and Lake Counties, countless individuals and families have been helped. In addition, our involvement with disaster relief enables us to further our reach to our friends in need with immediate assistance when all is lost suddenly. In addition, through our SVdP thrift store voucher program, families in need of essentials such as clothing, diapers, household items, and much more, received items in excess of $70,000. All of us need a little help from time to time. I have learned that many times, those in poverty, those in desperate need, feel alone because they do not have anyone. That is why the Society is there. We offer hope, compassion, and TLC.

This year, more than ever, your generosity will provide assistance to keep families from being out in the harsh winter elements, food and holiday meals through food pantry offerings, migrants with clothing and shelter, and disaster relief to families who have lost everything. Together, we can share in changing a life and making a better world for those that are most in need. Please visit us at www.svdpchicago.org and view the many uplifting success stories of those that needed the most help - all possible because of your support.

I thank you in advance for your continued support. All of us need a little help and hope from time to time. I humbly ask you to donate what you can, to help us continue the fight against poverty. Together, we can share in the giving of life and make a better world for those that are in most need.

God Bless,

Harry Ohde, Volunteer President/CEO - Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago