Vincentian Family Day: Saturday, November 14

You are invited to the 22nd Annual Southern California VINCENTIAN FAMILY DAY, scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2009 at the De Paul Evangelization Center, 1105 S. Bluff Rd., Montebello.

Come celebrate with us – the Vincentian Family – including the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, the Ladies of Charity, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, the Vincentian Service Corps, the Vincentian Marian Youth, Vincentian parishioners, partners, associates … and be inspired and empowered for our service with the Poor.

The schedule for that day is as follows:

* 9-9:30 am Registration

* 9:30–10:30 am Eucharistic Liturgy

* 10:30–11 am Coffee Break

* 11 am – 1 pm Keynote Presentation: Allison Boisvert, MSW
"From Hope to Reality: Systemic Change & the End of Generational Poverty"

* 1–2 pm Lunch

* 2-2:15 pm Raffle

* 2:15–2:30 pm Sending Forth Prayer Celebration

The general public is invited to attend this event. The cost, which includes lunch, is just $15 per person. To register, please call 323-721-6060.

NOTE: The keynote speaker, Ms. Boisvert, is the Social Justice Minister for the Pax Christi Catholic Community in northern Michigan, and was a key-note speaker at the 2009 National Vincentian Family Gathering

We may not do windows, but we can still help. And you'll receive a double tax-deduction!

Why call 1-800-JUNK when YOU can receive a tax donation?

* Are you relocating and have to leave your household items behind?
* Facing foreclosure and can't keep your furniture, appliances and more?
* Do you have a warehouse, a storage unit or an estate that needs to be emptied?
* Do you oversee a hotel/motel and need to discard current furniture for new items?
* Do you need to remove heavy & bulky items from your high-rise apartment?

No problem! Just pick up the phone and call 323-224-6214. And then relax!

The Society will send a truck to your site to remove any and all usable items you no longer need! The best part? You don't have to lift or move a thing! Just leave the items where they are, and the Society's workers will do all the work for you. Sorry, though. We don't do windows.

A hauling fee does apply, which will benefit the Society's outreach programs to help the homeless and working-poor, thus improving the economy! PLUS, you'll receive a tax-deduction for not only the items the Society picks up, but also for the hauling charge. Please call for a free estimate today!

6th Annual Toiletries Drive for homeless children, women and men

“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”
~ Matthew 25:25

Dear Young Vincentians & Friends:

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s 6th Annual Toiletries Drive is scheduled for November 21-22. Please let me know if you’d like me to e-mail you, as MS Word documents, copies of:

* Toiletries Drive Timeline
* Toiletries Drive Flier (English)
* Toiletries Drive Flier (English)
* Toiletries Drive Bulletin & Mass Announcements (English)
* Toiletries Drive Bulletin & Mass Announcements (Spanish)

If the weekend of November 22 doesn’t work for you or your parish, feel free to choose a more convenient date. You may keep the items for use at your own parish, donate them to the Society’s homeless shelter in downtown LA (St. Vincent’s Cardinal Manning Center), or keep some and share some with the shelter.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at sanman@svdpla.org or by calling 323-224-6298.

Yours in St. Vincent de Paul & Blessed Frédéric Ozanam,

Manuel A. Sánchez
Youth/Young Adult Conference Coordinator
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Council of Los Angeles

YOU are invited...

SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
ST. RAPHAEL CONFERENCE

Fundraiser to
SAN MANUEL CASINO

DONATION: $21.00
Includes tip to bus driver

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2009

Boarding at 10:30 a.m. from
ST. RAPHAEL Church Parking Lot
942 W. 70TH STREET
** Departs at 11:00 a.m. **
** Returns between 8-8:30 p.m. **

$10 IN CASH GIVEN
TO EACH PASSENGER AT CASINO

Please contact:

St. Raphael Rectory
(323) 758-7100

Make check payable to:
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Raphael Conference

Mail to:
St. Raphael Church
942 West 70st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90044
Att: Ervin Siles

See filmmaker Spike Lee & help support the Council's Cardinal Manning Center (shelter)

See and hear Spike Lee, one of America's finest filmmakers, at the next ESPN 'Lunch with a Legend, November 24 at Morton's the Steakhouse, 735 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90017-2562.

Various memorabilia items also will be raffled, with ALL proceeds benefiting the Council's Cardinal Manning Center (shelter) in Los Angeles' Skid Row.

Lee is well-known for his devotion to the New York Knicks of the NBA. Lee also incorporates something related to baseball in each of his movies. Examples include the New York Mets in Mo' Better Blues and Jungle Fever, Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens in Do The Right Thing, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente in Clockers, Reggie Jackson and the New York Yankees in Summer of Sam, and Jackie Robinson in Malcolm X.

For reservations and more information, please click on the Lunch with a Legend link, featuring Spike Lee's photo, on the right side of this blog.

UCLA Conference Volunteers Assist at Council's L.A. Thrift Store

Twelve members of UCLA-Frassati Conference in Westwood recently spent an afternoon volunteering their services at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s flagship thrift store in Lincoln Heights; putting the clothing racks in order, tidying up the store’s large book section and dressing up mannequins and sprucing up store displays. The Bruin 'Vincentians' came to the thrift store after spending the morning serving upwards of 200 meals to homeless residents of downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row (which is one of this Conferences’ regular Saturday service ministries).

“It’s incredible how much they did in the few hours they were here,” Manuel A. Sánchez, youth/young adult Conference coordinator for the Society’s Council of LA, said.

UCLA recently changed its name, adding “Frassati” in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a college student who belonged to the Society in Italy during the rise of fascism and was an opponent to this movement, as well as an avid advocate for people who were poor.

For information on how young people can become members of a St. Vincent de Paul Youth Conference and have fun while helping to improve the lives of disadvantaged and homeless children and families, please contact Sánchez at 323-226-1757 or via e-mail at sanman@svdpla.org.

P.S. Where are the USC students? The Society needs your help, too.

And the Halloween winners are...

The Society's L.A. Council held a Halloween potluck and costume contest on Friday at its main office and store production center in Los Angeles.

The employees enjoyed themselves, as there was plenty of food to go around! Some of the employees came to work dressed in their finest clothes. Carolyn Sanchez won in the female category for portraying Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz,' while Jose Aguilar took top honors in the male category dressed as a woman. Olivia Reyes was victorious in the admin department as NOT a desperate housewife! Each winner received a gift card.

Upon winning, Reyes jokingly said, "Wow, I didn't know I could win a prize just for getting out of bed in the morning and going straight to work. I should dress this way more often."

Photo (l-r): Carolyn Sanchez, Jose Aguilar, David Fields, deputy executive director; Jim Bibb, human resource director; Olivia Reyes and Tony Terrazas, store director.