There is one last opportunity to bring your gently used clothing and household items to the SVdP Donation Pod located in the St. Clare parking lot.  It is scheduled to be picked up during the day on Monday, Oct. 22.  So please share the things that YOU no longer use but are still useful!  You may drop off your donations anytime—just lift the door on the pod and leave your stuff.  There is a book of receipts just inside, along with extra bags to take home for future donations!   There are regular calls on our SVdP Assistance line requesting help with obtaining some of the many things most of us take for granted.  A recent caller was relocating from a domestic violence situation and starting over.  She needed sheets, towels, plates and pots.  Children grow so quickly; there are steady requests for...

The Friends of the Poor Walk is Saturday, September 29 at 10 am at Belle Isle. This is a national event with the purpose of providing local SVdP conferences the opportunity to raise funds to support their special works and projects. Any money we raise will go into the St. Clare SVdP account to assist people in our immediate area. To walk--it’s a leisurely 3 miles on Belle Isle--sponsor or donate, please go to https://www.fopwalk.org. You may also place your gift in a marked envelope and drop it in the collection basket or at the parish office. A donation of any amount will be much appreciated! For more information, leave a message on our assistance line at 313-647-5062 or email Barb at barbarakoster@comcast.net

Now that Spring has officially arrived, it is time to gear up for the SVdP summer camp season!  Please help us spread the word about the seasonal employment and volunteer opportunities at Camp Ozanam for summer 2018. Staff and volunteers will be a part of something truly remarkable – a summer camp experience where children grow to experience God’s love through the support of caring adult role models. We are looking for staff and volunteers who want to help change lives! One summer camp experience can change a child’s perspective and make a huge impact on their future.

St. Vincent de Paul is once again facilitating the Michigan Energy Assistance Program.  This year the program is divided into “crisis prevention” and “crisis intervention.”  The actual application is the same for both programs, but people interested in crisis prevention must attend an ECOworks workshop or have other energy self-sufficiency counseling—and as a result, there is a higher cap on the funds available.  If you or someone you know needs assistance with their energy expenses, please leave a message on our assistance line at 313-647-5062 and one of our volunteers will contact you to go over the qualification requirements.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Annual Thanksgiving Basket Project.  What a delight it was to deliver holiday food to our neighbors.  The Kroger gift cards donated by some of you were also much appreciated because it is not possible for us to easily provide fresh dairy or bakery products to supplement a special dinner.  Thank You for your generosity!   Our SVdP conference does not have an official Christmas assistance or Adopt-a-Family program, however we regularly get requests from people who would like additional holiday help. This week we were contacted about a family of 8 living ...

What would happen to your family if the only source of income suddenly vanished?  How would you cope if a medical crisis drained your bank account? Could you manage your life without a car?  Faced with the challenges life presents, many of our neighbors in need seek help from St. Vincent de Paul. The SVdP conference at St. Clare is an active group of volunteers who grow their own faith by extending mercy to others, and we always welcome new members!  (For more information, leave a message on our Assistance Line at 313-647-5062 or email us at StClareSVdP@gmail.com)

Our SVdP Conference is currently enrolling children for Camp Ozanam.  There are opportunities for boys and girls from ages 8 through 16 to enjoy a week on the shores of Lake Huron at no cost to their families.  SVdP-St. Clare is hosting a Camp Enrollment Gathering in the Social Hall on Saturday, June 10 from 10 a.m. until noon, and we are also meeting with families now to help them get a jump start on their paperwork. If you know someone who...

The special guest who preached at all the masses the weekend of March 4th and 5th?  He is Deacon Chris Stark, and he is the new executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Detroit.  He was hired in September and works at the SVdP Central Office at 3000 Gratiot. His responsibility is to lead the team at headquarters in providing infrastructure for Vincentians throughout the archdiocese of Detroit in doing our work...

Do you wonder how SVdP here at St. Clare spends the money that you donate to us throughout the year?  There are many uses of course, but we often find ourselves helping neighbors purchase appliances--particularly refrigerators and stoves, and sometimes washers and dryers. Not all landlords provide appliances these days, and the cost of moving them from one residence to the next is prohibitive for some families, so we assist with appliances more often than you might think...

High energy bills can be a “budget buster” for individuals and families living on a limited income.  St. Vincent de Paul has been providing funds via the Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) to help people out of shut-off.  Here at St. Clare,  volunteers have been writing grant applications since October and having access to funds that keep their utilities on has been quite a blessing to the eligible applicants. 

As we enjoy these beautiful summer days, we forget that it won’t be too long until it is time to turn on the furnace and warm up the house.  Once again, St. Vincent de Paul-Detroit has been awarded money to help eligible persons or families with energy assistance.  This year the grant is 5 million dollars.  We are awaiting the word on when the training will be offered to SVdP volunteers to write the applications and how soon the funding will be available.  In the past, St. Clare has started working with clients in late October and continued until the money runs out—usually in late May.

The  first Camp Ozanam Enrollment Gathering held at St. Clare for families living in the Detroit East District of SVdP was a HUGE success! We were able to enroll 79 children in the camp program. Vincentians from St. Clare, St. Matthew, and St. Ambrose were on hand to interview the children, help parents fill out camp applications, and assist our volunteer doctors with 79 camp physicals.   Along with the their camp tote bag, the children also...

Summer Camp continues to be the focus of our conference activity this month.  St. Clare is hosting the Camp Enrollment Gathering for the Detroit East District this weekend—June 11.  But it is still not too late to sign up deserving kids for camp.  The first session starts on Tuesday, July 5, and then  more sessions begin on the next  4 consecutive Mondays, with camp ending on August 6.  There is no cost for families to send their children, ages 8-12 for Traditional Camp and ages 13-14 for Adventure Camp.  A week...

ST. CLARE KIDS HELPING CAMP OZANAM CAMP KIDS - Thank you to Mrs. Melvin’s 6th grade CCD class who has been helping our St. Vincent de Paul Pantry assemble Personal Care bags for 80 kids who will be attending camp this summer at Camp Ozanam. This class and other grades will continue to help on this project in April and May. Each child is required to bring his or her own items to camp, and sometimes that is a challenge for families, so for the first time we are assembling these items to distribute at the Camp Sign Up Day in June that will be hosted by St. Clare SVDP...

Our St. Vincent de Paul Conference continues to have a busy winter!  We will be your hosts for the next Simple Supper, Monday, February 22nd.  Come and enjoy the soups made by our conference members and fellowship with St. Clare Parishioners. We are always ready to welcome new volunteers, so if you are interested in getting involved on a regular basis or for just a single project, please talk with one of the Vincentians at Simple Supper to learn about  ways to get involved.

To each and every one of you who came  to Kroger or to St. Clare to help us out with the Gleaners-Kroger “Bringing Hope to the Table” food drive – THANK YOU!  To those who prayed for our recipients, donors, and volunteers – THANK YOU! To all those who helped us recruit volunteers through the school and various ministries of the parish – THANK YOU!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: JANUARY 16TH AND 17TH - St. Vincent de Paul Bringing Hope to the Table -  Food Collection Project at Kroger. Location: Marter and Jefferson, St. Clair Shores. Thank you to everyone who has supported this project in the past. With your help we will be able to stock our pantry for many months to help our neighbors in need. You can volunteer at the store or at St. Clare. Families are welcome but those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. SIGN UP CHARTS ARE ON THE WHITTIER WALL

Each year SVDP does a special outreach to families we have helped in the past year by delivering a Thanksgiving Food Gift. This year we hope to help 25 families. We already have a generous donor who is providing 25 hams, but we could use a little more help.

It is time again for EAP--the Energy Assistance Program! St. Vincent de Paul-Detroit has been awarded $4.4 million dollars from the State of Michigan Public Service Commission to disperse to eligible persons. As we have done for the past 2 grant periods, SVdP-St. Clare will be taking the lead on a collaboration of Vincentians from the surrounding parishes of our SVdP District—St. Matthew, St. Paul, Star of the Sea, St. Ambrose, and St. Raymond. We will also be serving people living in areas with no SVdP representation—St. Philomena, St. Jude, Assumption Grotto, and people who live where St. Peter and Queen of Peace have closed.

The St. Vincent de Paul Friends of the Poor Walk on Saturday, October 17th is a unique opportunity to be a witness of god’s love, to ignite hope in the hopeless, or reward someone’s faith. It’s the opportunity to not just “talk the talk” but to literally “walk the walk.”