Our Mission
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need. 
Our People
This new section will help you get to know our staff, board, volunteers, and partners. This month we are featuring...
PANTRY MANAGER, ROB FORESMAN

Rob was born in Omaha, Nebraska and is the oldest of 15 children and has lived in Nebraska most of his life. He is an avid historian and graduated from Chadron State College in 2011 with a BA in History and obtained his MA in Public History from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2016.

Currently he is enrolled at Liberty University where he is completing his Ph.D. in History with concentration in Social Network and Public History. While much of his volunteer work is in state and local history, Rob is thrilled to join the team at the St. Vincent de Paul Society where he hopes his experience working within community partnerships and higher education lends to further development and success of the SVdP Pantry and upcoming Garden Project.

Rob is married to his wife Katerina and they recently celebrated the birth of their first child, Meghan Maria, earlier this year in April of 2020.Rob's first week was halted by a positive COVID test but our wonderful volunteers kept everything running on their own while he recovered for a few weeks. We thank them all for their dedication and hard work! Glad you are back Rob!
Our Work
COAT GIVEAWAY
Saturday Nov 7
8:00 am - 3:00pm
Can I just say, "You guys are amazing!"? The response to the Coat Drive has been incredible this year. Last count we had 51 cases of brand new kids coats from our Conferences and the Knights of Columbus Councils. That has got to be a record! That doesn't include new coats that were purchased outside the Coats for Kids Knights of Columbus program. If you were wondering if your coats made it to the drive, they did! We just might not run out this year!! Yahoo!

We still need volunteers on Saturday and there are several shifts available:
7:30 - 10:30 am
10:00 - 1:00 pm
12:30 - 3:00 pm

And Sunday clean up 11:00 am - 12:30 pm.

Thank you to our partners Knights of Columbus, KVSS, Gloria Deo Catholic Book store, Norlock metals, Two Men and a Truck and and the SVdP Thrift Stores.

Cindy Engelkamp
Society Of St. Vincent de Paul
Winter Coat Giveaway Chairperson
CONFERENCE HOME VISITS (AND SO MUCH MORE!)
CARES ACT FUNDING UPDATE
We are grateful we have CARES funds in addition to our own to help our neighbors in need. We have received 2/3 of the grant money awarded us and are overwhelmed by the need and the gratitude when we can help.  People who never needed financial support before are finding themselves on the verge of eviction or struggling just to keep the lights on and the water running.
We hope the connections we make during these troubled times will blossom into long-term friendships with opportunities for volunteers in a wide array of activities at Holy Family and in our 30 conferences. We hope you’ll join us as well, in any way that interests you. 

Kimberly came to us in August in need of rent and OPPD assistance. She had been laid off in April from her job at an insurance company. She is a single mom with two children, 13 and 16, and child support had been suspended also since her husband had limited hours in home repairs due to Covid. Kimberly managed her limited resources by utilizing the pantries, had a garage sale, and borrowed from family. When August came she found herself $2400 behind in rent and $288.00 in OPPD. Without help to pay all of these bills Kimberly would have been facing eviction in the future. 
  Generous gifts took away the pressure of financial ruin and she put her energy into finding another job. She currently is employed and is catching up financially. Her 16 year old is even helping out with wages from fast food. 
   These funds have been a blessing to our community at a time when people needed hope and knowing people were there to give a hand up.
FOOD PANTRY
The number of people we are serving has steadily increased from 150 to 225 per day. Your support means we can help more people at a time when the need is so great.
Current Food Pantry Needs:
Produce welcome!
Rice, beans, and staples always needed!
Drop off at 2101 Leavenworth Monday or Wednesday
between 8:00 - 11:00 am
PANTRY DRIVE-THROUGH OPEN
2101 Leavenworth Street
TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS 9:00 - 12:30
THRIFT STORES
Did you know our stores spread our mission by offering our Conferences discounts when assisting neighbors, even giving vouchers for free goods at times, and being a place where people can be independent and buy their own clothes and household supplies at a low cost?
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS AT OUR STORES
If you can join us at any of our stores, we can provide a fun opportunity to sort clothes and help with other projects with friends or while meeting new people. Safely with masks and distance of course!
SVdP Thrift Stores
Store Donation Pickup: Call Monday - Friday 9am-5pm to schedule
402-341-1688

Northwest Store
5505 N. 90th St | Mon-Sat 9a-8p, Sun 12-5p | 402-502-7837

Downtown Store
2101 Leavenworth St | Mon-Sat: 9a-6p | 402-341-4942

Papillion Store
807 Tara Pl | Mon-Sat 9a-6p | 402-593-4055

South Omaha Store
5037 S. 24th St | Mon-Sat 9a-6p | 402-733-3500
HOLY FAMILY COMMUNITY CENTER
THE CHAPEL
Listen & Learn Lunch
We will get back to releasing new videos every Friday at noon on the Holy Family website and our YouTube Channel soon.
In the meantime, Watch our story videos here
Art 21
Our virtual screening of the Borderlands episode of the PBS series Art 21 has been postponed until
Thursday January 7th at 5:30pm.
There will be an online panel discussion following the hour long show with artists and curators from The Joslyn Art Museum and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. Learn about contemporary art and the artists making it as well as some of your neighbors.
THE SOCIAL HALL
THE HOLY FAMILY MINISTRIES

Sack Lunch Program
As we begin renovations of our historic (very old!) building, we had to close the Sack Lunch door for several days. Our amazing volunteers made hundreds of extra lunches to be handed out at the Closet Door and through our Street Outreach.
We can't thank you enough for all you do!

Closet Door
Your help is needed....
Do you have individual size (hotel supplies are great) unused personal care supplies you can donate?
Are you looking for confirmation service hours? Please consider making toiletry bags or providing providing personal care supplies for groups to do so. Please contact us at [email protected] if you can help. Thank you !

CALLING ALL KNITTERS!
Could you consider knitting hats or scarves for our Closet Door? They are always in need and greatly appreciated!

Street Outreach
We will be focusing our Giving Tuesday campaign on our Street Outreach program, which delivers our sack lunches and other supplies to those on the street and at several senior housing towers. Look for more info soon and save the date of Tuesday December 1.
In the meantime, you can support this needed work by shopping our Amazon Wish List and have supplies delivered directly to us from the comfort and safety of your couch!
THE CHURCHYARD
The garden is being closed up for the winter and we are evaluating how our second season went. Planning for next year will begin right away so we can make the most of this beautiful space. We will also begin to work with others to develop their own community gardens.
Contact us for more information: [email protected]
Don't forget to do your Cyber Monday shopping through our Amazon Smile link. Just sign up once and we receive 0.5% or each of your purchases made through that link.

Please consider the Society and Holy Family in your estate and other planned giving.

We are also developing a Corporate Sponsorship Program with opportunities for volunteer days, focused giving and more.

Contact our Development Director, Colleen McLeay here for more information.

Your support is greatly appreciated!
There are lots of ways to support us if you can!
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance:
 Helpline: 402-346-5445