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Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha
May 2024 Newsletter
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Supporting our neighbors in need with spirituality, friendship and service; providing emergency food, clothing, material and financial / homeless prevention assistance, since 1868 | |
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FOOD PANTRY | PARISH CONFERENCE OUTREACH | HOMELESS MINISTRIES | THRIFT STORES | |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- A message from our Executive Director
- Board Spotlight – Monsignor James Gilg
- Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving
- SSVP Thrift Stores Need Volunteers! Can You Help?
- Save Big on Children's Clothes at SSVP Stores this May!
- WOWT - Stuff the Truck
- Volunteers Needed to "Un-Stuff" the Truck(s)!
- “Food Raiser” at the “B Bar" - A Rocking Success
- Strawberry Brunch - Reserve Your Seat!
- SSVP Omaha's Development Director - Tim Sully - Honored with Creighton University's Fr. Schlegel Award
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A Message from our Executive Director, Jill Lynch-Sosa
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
And the man then asked Jesus, `Who is my neighbor?’ ”
-Luke 10:27/29
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Dear SSVP Friends,
On Friday afternoon, April 26th, I left work a little early, trying to beat the rain in what was then a “tornado watch." I live in Northwest Omaha and had heard that tornadic activity was a strong possibility in the area, if not probable. The rain was coming down “in buckets” (as my dad still says). About halfway home, my phone and car radio broadcast a nearly simultaneous emergency message, indicating that tornadoes had been spotted.
We all know the rest of the story of how this day ended. Tornados did indeed touch down in a number of locations in Nebraska, including (though not limited to) areas in and around Lincoln, Elkhorn, Waterloo, Bennington, and Blair, as well as across southwest Iowa.
In Douglas County alone, 846 houses were affected by the storms, of which 175 homes were completely destroyed. It’s an understatement to say that the aftermath of these storms was devastating for those families who were in the direct path of a number of these tornados.
Of course, on behalf of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul – which most certainly includes you – I want to extend our prayers to the victims of these storms. While there were limited injuries and deaths, it is definitely the case that damage to homes and other property was catastrophic.
Through our connections with a number of St. Vincent de Paul conferences in the Omaha area, I can tell you that the Society’s disaster relief efforts were mobilized, beginning on the 26th. That evening, our Vincentian volunteers were on the ground at the command center at St Patrick’s Catholic Church, handing out vouchers to our thrift stores, towels, blankets, and clothing while offering emotional and spiritual support. These SSVP Omaha volunteers, along with the St. Patrick’s Elkhorn parishioners, have been pitching in to assist families devastated by the storm, as needed, since that day. Our local District Office and Council remains in close contact with St. Pat’s SSVP conference and has already provided them with additional support that they’re using to assist families affected by the storm.
I have also been in touch with the national SSVP’s Disaster Services office, which has provided guidance to our Council, helping us navigate our relief services. In addition, a couple of days ago, I was invited to serve on the local affiliate of VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster) an association of non-profit organizations with the specific goal of mitigating and alleviating the impact of disasters. This group meets every couple of days and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I can tell you that this VOAD group currently is, and will remain extremely helpful in ensuring great communication, collaboration, and service delivery coordination in and among the organizations that are helping neighbors – from ALL affected communities – recover from last Friday’s terrible storms. I’ve said this before, and it’s worth repeating here: When disaster strikes, whether it’s a medical crisis, lost job, or natural disaster, the Society is poised and ready to help in both the short and long term.
The aftermath of these tornados, and their impact on the families whose lives were devastated by their aftermath, will be felt for a very long time. Please know that SSVP Omaha will continue to be involved for as long as is needed. That is what our organization does and it is what Midwesterners do. It also speaks to the answer to the question that the man in the Gospel of Luke (above) asks Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?”
Thank you, and may God bless you for all you do to help your neighbors in need.
Gratefully,
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Jill Lynch-Sosa
Executive Director
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In addition to “Monsignor”, James Gilg has held a variety of titles in his 83 years of life: son; brother; friend; educator; seminarian; priest; president; superintendent; pianist; board member, and advocate for the poor & marginalized, among others. However, as Monsignor Gilg humbly shares, “I’m really just a farm kid from Nebraska."
Monsignor Gilg has been a priest with the Archdiocese of Omaha since 1966 – and was conferred with the title of “Monsignor” by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. Retiring from formal ministry in 2016, and now living in residence at Boys Town, Monsignor Gilg is still actively involved in the Omaha community, including being a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha’s board of directors and its Spiritual Advisor. We recently had a chance to sit down with Monsignor Gilg, related to this SSVP Omaha “Board Spotlight."
Born in Holt County in 1941, Monsignor Gilg was the second of five siblings, growing up on a ranch outside of Atkinson, Nebraska. “We had a lot of feed cattle, and a number of dairy cattle, poultry, and some other livestock,” shares Monsignor Gilg, “and they all had to be taken care of. So, I would get up in the early morning hours and help make sure they were fed and watered. My parents didn’t have much money, although they did scrape up enough to give me piano lessons, beginning when I was around 9 years old, which is when my love for music first started.”
Attending a one-room “country” school through 8th grade, Monsignor Gilg has fond memories of attending mass in Atkinson with his family. “I always liked `churchy’ stuff,” recalls Monsignor Gilg. “And, I clearly remember my mom leading prayers at home, which is a very pleasant memory. Going to church was truly a pleasure. I also had really great role models of young priests on staff when I attended St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Atkinson. All of that, I think, led me to realize I had a calling to the priesthood.”
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After high school and finishing four years of studies at Conception Seminary in Missouri, Monsignor Gilg then attended Catholic University in Washington DC, where he spent the next four years studying Theology. Always a good student and passionate about education, Monsignor Gilg went above and beyond the normal studies that were assigned. So, in addition to completing his theological studies, Monsignor Gilg took double the academic load and earned a Master of Education – also from Catholic University.
Upon ordination in 1966, Monsignor Gilg’s first pastoral assignment was to St. Cecilia Cathedral Parish in mid-town Omaha. “I very much loved St. Cecilia, the congregation and the school. However, back in the late sixties, I started to become aware of the poor and disenfranchised communities in Omaha – and I wanted to be involved in that," shares Monsignor Gilg. “So, I often found myself visiting the heart of Catholic social justice issues at the time, which was the Holy Family parish in downtown Omaha. That truly energized me.”
Monsignor Gilg’s love of education – and his passion for serving the poor – did not go unnoticed by Archbishop Sheehan, as he was assigned to lead Catholic Schools in north Omaha, including Dominican High School and, later, Flanagan High School. “I really became passionate about the young men and women we served at Dominican and Flanagan," recalls Monsignor Gilg. “So many of them just needed a little extra hand up in life, which is what, I think, we provided at these schools.”
In 1993, Monsignor Gilg was asked to become president of a new parochial High School that was opening in west Omaha – Skutt Catholic – where he served for 15 years. In 2008, then Archbishop Elden Curtiss asked Monsignor Gilg if he would consider becoming Superintendent of all Archdiocesan Catholic schools, as well as pastor at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church. Not surprisingly, Monsignor Gilg agreed to both. Monsignor Gilg was Superintendent of Catholic Schools until 2013, at which time he became the first Executive Director of the Omaha Catholic School Consortium. Monsignor Gilg held the Omaha Catholic School Consortium and St. Mary Magdalene positions until his retirement in 2016.
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“I’m grateful to have been able to utilize my passion for education as part of my ministry, over the years,” shares Monsignor Gilg. “It’s the same, here at Boys Town, where I help with all the spiritual activities with the youth and family teachers on the campus. This includes daily Masses, sacramental preparation, prayers before events, and spiritual talks. Frankly, I’m grateful for everything that’s been put in front of me throughout my career,” shares Monsignor Gilg. "I feel very blessed.”
In 2016, SSVP Omaha Board President, Diane Mead, asked Monsignor Gilg to join the board, as well as become the Society’s Spiritual Advisor. “I remember being very impressed by the work of the members of the Society through my various posts, over the years, and I know how important their services are to those in need in the Omaha area,” shares Monsignor Gilg. “So, of course, I was happy to have the opportunity to become part of their mission to serve the poor. I saw it as an opportunity for me to continue to be actively engaged in pastoral ministry, in spite of my retirement status. During the past eight years, my esteem and respect for the Society has increased a great deal, as I have learned the extent of the services that are provided throughout the metro area."
Monsignor Gilg has been a quiet, steady, and deeply spiritually grounded presence on our board of directors, and within the larger SSVP Omaha community. Diane Mead – who serves on the board of directors with Monsignor Gilg – offers her reflections: “The thing about Msgr. Gilg is not only has he lived out his calling to serve others in such an exemplary way, with a focus on educating Catholic students from all walks of life, his leadership and his mentoring of people – young and not so young – his enthusiasm for life makes him just a joy to be around. For the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, his counsel and guidance have been difference-makers. His perspective was so valuable for me when I was Council President, and we continue to be completely blessed to have him as our Spiritual Advisor!”
Monsignor Gilg shares some final thoughts on his involvement with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: “I see the work of the Society as being a practical and effective way for people of faith to reach out to those most vulnerable and those most in need. The personal outreach and one-on-one approach that the Society offers to the poor and marginalized is most commendable. My own faith has been nourished and enriched, considerably, through my association with the Society. In my humble opinion, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha is truly remarkable, and I am so grateful to be part of it.”
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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha is participating in the first annual Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving. From mid-April through Wednesday, May 8th, Nebraska-based non-profit organizations with a Catholic apostolic affiliation have been invited to participate in this very helpful fundraising event. SSVP Omaha is one of 111 organizations from the Archdiocese of Omaha taking part.
We are very happy and grateful to let you know that - so far - this first-ever Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving has been a success for the Society, and especially for those we serve. Because this Day of Giving is still in progress (donations can be made through May 8th), we continue to be optimistic that this Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving will turn out to be the single largest one-day fundraising event in the history of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha.
We are extremely grateful for all of the people who have stepped up to support the mission of the Society through this giving event. We cannot serve the poorest of our community without the support we receive from so many individuals, families, churches, businesses, and other organizations that care about neighbors in need who are struggling to keep their families fed, clothed, and housed.
So, if you have not yet had an opportunity to make a gift in support of the Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving, you still have the opportunity to do so (through May 8th) by visiting our SSVP Omaha profile page, found HERE.
Thank You!
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SSVP Thrift Stores Need Volunteers! Can You Help? | |
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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha operates four “thrift” stores in the Omaha metro area. Because of their extremely discounted pricing, these stores allow households with lower incomes to be able to afford quality items that may be unable to purchase at other retail outlets. These items include gently used clothing, household goods, furniture, small appliances, toys, home décor, and more.
In addition to a great deal for the shoppers at the stores, perhaps more importantly the net revenue from the stores goes back to directly fund our programs to our neighbors! So you see, the stores are an important part of our works!
Historically, the Society has benefitted from the abundant volunteer services of many, many volunteers who provided critical assistance to our staff in the day-to-day activities in running a retail thrift store - providing customers with needed merchandise, in support of the SSVP mission.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic (appropriately) halted nearly all thrift store volunteering …. for a good long while. Over the last couple of years, some volunteers have returned to helping out in our thrift stores, although the vast majority of these volunteers have not. So, we would like to ask you to thoughtfully consider becoming a regular volunteer at one of our thrift stores.
We could sure use your help!
And, for your reference, the kinds of things that thrift store volunteers generally assist our staff with, are: Organizing and distributing merchandise for sale on the retail floor; Responding to customers' needs at the receiving dock; Assisting staff with lifting and moving donated (or purchased) items (up to 30 pounds); and Light dusting and sweeping.
Our thrift stores are located at:
5505 North 90th Street
2101 Leavenworth Street
807 Tara Plaza (Papillion)
12301 West Center Road
So, if helping out in one of our thrift stores sounds interesting to you, we invite you to please fill out a volunteer application on the Society’s website, found HERE.
Complete information regarding our thrift stores can be found HERE.
Thank you very much for considering this volunteer opportunity!
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Save Big on Children's Clothes at SSVP Stores this May! | |
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Now is the perfect time to pick out some cute summer clothes for the little ones in your life! All month long, children’s clothes will be $1.38 per item or $5 for FIVE items!
Don’t miss out on this incredible deal – shop at your nearest SSVP Omaha Thrift Store today!
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12301 W Center Road
Mon-Sat, 10 AM-8 PM
Sun, 12 PM-5 PM
(402) 933-8242
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2101 Leavenworth St
Mon-Sat, 9 AM-6 PM
(402) 341-1689
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5505 N. 90th St
Mon-Fri, 10 AM-6 PM
Sat, 10 AM-4 PM
(402) 502-7837
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807 Tara Plaza
Mon-Sat, 9 AM-6 PM
(402) 593-4055
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Just yesterday, Thursday, May 2nd, WOWT Channel 6 News and Methodist Health Systems hosted their 2024 Spring "Stuff the Truck!"
With a truck from Two Men and a Truck hosted at both the Methodist Women's Hospital and the Methodist Physicians Clinic, this event invited people from all over Omaha to donate non-perishable food and goods.
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All of the donations raised at these two locations were given to our SSVP Omaha food pantry to be distributed to those in need facing financial difficulty this spring.
In total, thanks to many incredibly generous donors, this spring's "Stuff the Truck" was able to raise 23,333 pounds, making this day a tremendous success!
Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and efforts yesterday, and to all of the kind donors who dropped off food to help those in need!
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As you might guess, the 23,333 pounds of food raised from this spring's "Stuff the Truck" takes up quite a bit of space!
After yesterday's event, we have eleven pallets of food in the main area of the pantry. These pallets will have to be sorted and taken out by Tuesday, May 7th, to allow our pantry to operate as normal.
If you are able, please volunteer at our pantry, located at 2101 Leavenworth Street, this coming Monday, May 6th, and/or Wednesday, May 8th to help us sort and shelve these donations from "Stuff the Truck."
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No prior pantry experience or sign-up is required - just show up at the SSVP food pantry anytime between 8:00-11:00 AM on Monday and/or Wednesday to lend a hand!
Notably, another load of pantry donations will be coming in next Saturday May11th, related to the United States Postal Service's "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive. We expect there will be quite a bit of food from this event, as well, and we will need YOUR help, once again, to sort and shelve these donations - on Monday, May 13th, and Wednesday, May 15th.
Please consider visiting the pantry anytime between 8:00-11:00 AM on any of these days to help us get our pantry cleaned, sorted, and ready to serve our neighbors!
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The bluesy “Food-Raiser” was a rocking success, held at the B-Bar on April 21st! Lou Deluca & the Delta 88s, along with their incredibly talented special guests, brought in a wonderful audience who donated to our SSVP Omaha Food Pantry before dancing and singing along to the tunes all afternoon. | | |
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In total, this event provided our pantry will over 10 full bins of food and diapers – all to be distributed to those facing financial difficulty at our food pantry. On top of this, the generous donors of the event raised over $1,000 for the pantry!
We would like to thank everyone - our kind donors, the fantastic performers, and especially Lou Deluca - who helped to organize the event. You all made this “Food-Raiser” a tremendous success and an absolute blast!
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On Saturday, June 1st – less than a month away – we will be hosting the 15th Annual Strawberry Brunch in Cain Hall at St. Wenceslaus from 10 AM to 1 PM!
As a reminder, this brunch and its various events, like the raffle and silent auction, all serve as fundraisers for our SSVP Omaha Food Pantry – providing food for the poorest neighbors in our Omaha community.
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While we have hostesses reserved for every table, a limited number of guest seats are still available. Grab your seat today before it’s gone by filling out the reservation form HERE!
We hope that you join us for this fabulous event! This year you can expect to enjoy plenty of wonderful refreshments (including mimosas!), appreciate the creative and fun themes for each table, participate in our raffle and silent auction, and, of course, take part in the fantastic brunch!
We are looking for ADULT volunteers to help with the Strawberry Brunch - both on the day before the event and on the day of the event - Friday, May 31st and Saturday, June 1st. The ADULT volunteer sign-up link can be found HERE.
We are also looking for YOUTH volunteers - between 7th-12th grades - to help prepare and serve the food to our guests. If you are aware of a young person who may be interested in volunteering for the June 1st Strawberry Brunch, please have them sign up to do so using the YOUTH volunteer link, found HERE.
If you are unable to attend but would like to donate to our food pantry for this event, please consider making your donation HERE.
We can’t wait to see you all at this year’s Strawberry Brunch!
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The Schlegel Center for Service and Justice (SCSJ) at Creighton University engages its students in community service, reflection, and action to improve justice and sustainability within our communities and across the country.
Creighton's SCSJ is named in memory and honor of Father John P Schlegel, S.J. - former President of Creighton University - whose commitment and acts of service to those in need were an inspiration to many. The SCSJ honors members of our community who emulate Fr. Schlegel’s drive to better the world with their Father Schlegel Award.
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This past April, Tim Sully - our very own SSVP Omaha Development Director - was honored by Creighton's SCSJ with the Father Schlegel Award for his more than 25 years of devoted service to the homeless and impoverished of Omaha.
Please help us in congratulating Tim - pictured with Creighton's SCSJ Staff - on this fantastic award!
The entire SSVP Omaha staff is so proud to work alongside someone as dedicated to the service of those in need - Tim Sully!
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