Dear Pastors and Vincentians:
Earlier this year, the SVdP Development Advisory Committee met to discuss this year’s opportunities for financial support of Council. Based on the success of the parish special collection at Blessed Sacrament Church and St. Timothy Church that raised more in this appeal than had been collected previously at designated masses, it was decided to again request permission from Bishop Foys to allow for a parish special collection in all Diocesan parishes. As an additional benefit, the special collection weekend offers an opportunity for Vincentians to share with the congregation how this special collection helps the Conference to serve more of their neighbors in need.
The special collection will coincide with the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul at all masses the weekend of September 28-29 with a 50/50 split of proceeds between Conferences and Council at parishes that include a SVdP Conference. With parishes that do not have a SVdP Conference, 100% of the proceeds will benefit our centrally managed programs to serve those in need. There also exists the incentive from The Butler Foundation match. Incremental increases over and above last year’s collection will be matched at 100%.
We are requesting your participation in the special collection at your parish. We realize that each parish supports SVdP at different levels and at various times of the year. Therefore, we are asking each parish to opt-in or opt-out of the special collection by Monday, August 12th via emailing Karen Zengel at karen.zengel@svdpnky.org While Bishop Foys has approved this special collection, there is no obligation for pastors to participate.
What follows is an introduction outlining the value of Council to Conference and the strategy to prepare and implement the St. Vincent de Paul Special Collection at parishes during the weekend of September 28-29, 2019. If you have any questions regarding the special collection or the materials, please contact Lou Settle, Advancement Director, at lou.settle@svdpnky.org or 859-446-7727. Additionally, this packet of material is available in Microsoft Word on this link.
Together, we can meet the needs of those suffering in our community. Thank you on behalf of those served for considering this important request, and for making it possible to provide emergency assistance to Northern Kentucky families since 1911.
Best,
Karen Zengel, Executive Director