Social Services and Justice
St. Matthew's Conference of
The St. Vincent de Paul Society
Who are we and what do we do?
Many people in our parish feel a strong desire to bring Christ's message of love directly to those in need. That's what the St. Vincent de Paul Society is all about.
We are a group of several dozen people of varying ages and backgrounds. Most, but not all, are St. Matthew's parishioners. We work under the spiritual direction of Rev. William Ahlbach of St. Matthew's parish, and operate semi-autonomously as an affiliate of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Our operation is very simple and direct.
- We make contact with needy families in one of the two ways:
- Families can phone the main office of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at 50 North "B" St. in San Mateo. If they live within the boundaries of our parish and need food or clothing, the B Street office faxes a request to St. Matthew's Rectory. (Recipients do not need to be Catholic.)
- Occasionally, families contact the parish office directly, either by phone or in person. In these cases, the parish staff creates the request form.
- Our volunteers prepare bags of groceries from our food locker. The food locker is stocked with groceries acquired from Second Harvest Food Bank and donated by our parishioners.
- We delivery the grocery stables along with a voucher for perishable items with a friendly smile right to the homes of those in need.
In the past few years, demand for our assistance has more than doubled. We regularly provide food to more than 300 families of month. Many of these families have been hurt by the recession. Some are elderly or have chronic health issues, and some are families struggling to get by.
If you'd like to join us in our efforts to help the poor, please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Jeanne Barrett (pnjbarrett@myastound.net) to learn how you can help, or come to one of our monthly meetings which are held the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 in the Parish Hall.
While we are thankful for the donations we receive from the 5th Sunday mass collections and poor box donations, it's never enough to meet the great need in our community. If you are able to make a financial contribution, please click the link below. 100% of your donation will go directly to purchase food for the poor or to help with rent and PG&E payments to avert homelessness.
St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Matthew's
