A Christmas List 2011
Friday - November 25, 2011
Help bring warmth to our shelter: make a donation to help pay for our heat.
Our address is
10 Railroad Place, Norwich, CT 06360
Phone: 860-889-7374
Feed a family. We need:
*Canned hams, tuna fish, chicken, beef stew and ravioli
*Pasta and pasta sauce
*Canned soup - the heartier the better
*Peanut butter
Gloves and hats are in constant demand.
* We need 300 of these for Christmas gifts.
Help someone with the basic hygiene items we all take for granted:
*Soap
*Shampoo and conditioner
*Deodorant
*Razors and shaving cream
*Toothpaste and tooth brushes
Gift cards to local stores that sell groceries, gas, and other necessities are always needed. Cards in the amount of ten dollars let us help a family get to their next paycheck,
Our patrons are our guests year round. We always need:
Coffee, sugar, toilet paper, napkins,
dishwashing liquid, cleaning supplies.
Is someone on your list hard to shop for?
Give a gift to St. Vincent’s in their name.
We’ll send them a card acknowledging your gift in their name.
Send an email or a letter to us with the following information.
Please tell us if you want a Christmas Card or a Holiday Card.
Information for the gift recipient (Please print):
Their Name, Address, City, State, Zip
Message in card: _
Giver’s information to be included in card (Please print):
Your Name, Address, City, State, Zip
Your phone # in case of questions
Please include any other comments.
Allow a few days for us to get the card out.
May God’s love fill your heart at this blessed season !
St. Vincent de Paul Place | 9:11 AM
How kids can help SVDPP.
Saturday - June 18, 2011
SVDPP Ambassadors – Children Who Make a Difference
Many times parents ask how younger children can get involved at SVDPP since volunteers must be 18 years old to participate here. They can make a huge difference and we definitely need to help them get started now. Here are some ideas.
Start at home with conversations that express your family values. Show your child by your example how your family cares and makes decisions that help others less fortunate. Help them to understand that they can also contribute by donating clothing and toys that they no longer need or want. Explore other ideas and encourage them to be creative. Suggest that doing chores can be a special way for them to help others by earning money to donate. They can clean, do dishes, shovel, or run errands, etc. to boost a collection. They can host a gathering of friends or relatives who will willingly pitch in or bring items for their cause. Some children ask for food donations in lieu of birthday gifts, for example.
Families with young children can focus on collecting books, warm clothing, blankets, backpacks, and personal care items for the homeless. If your children belong to any organization or church, encourage them to mention their goals and ask others to join them.
Children can discuss their goals with their teacher and class and ask for assistance. One first grade class in Norwich started a food closet in their school. That project became a school-wide service-learning project that delivered about 16,000 food items to St. Vincent de Paul Place in an 8 year period. Students contributed, counted, sorted, and delivered all of the items. They wrote about and visited the soup kitchen and homeless shelter and felt very powerful about their accomplishments.
Some other suggestions:
- Plan your own food drive. Decorate a large box and place it somewhere where it can easily be seen. Perhaps there is a workplace or a convenient public area or an event where people would be generous. Advertise ahead of time. (Adults are usually more receptive to giving something if a child asks.)
- Assemble your own “Holiday Hope Box” for a needy or homeless child. Fill the box with small toys, toiletries and art supplies, chosen for a special boy or girl of a specific age and label it. Create and include your own hand-designed holiday card.
- Make a care package with mittens, socks, T-shirts, etc. for a needy child.
- Make warm scarves from fleece fabric. Buy lengths of micro-fleece and simply cut them into strips. Then cut the ends into fringe. The fleece does not unravel so no sewing is required. All you need is approximately 8 to 10 inches wide by 3-5 feet in length. Try knotting the fringe pieces together, two by two, so that all of the fringes are knotted or slide beads onto the fringe and tie another knot for decoration.
- Donate art supplies to kids in a homeless shelter.
- Make a holiday basket or a centerpiece for the SVDPP dining area.
- Decorate placemats and make cards to brighten someone’s day there.
- Bake a batch of cookies or cupcakes and deliver them.
- Make first aid kits for the homeless shelter.
- Organize a neighborhood group to plant, tend and harvest a vegetable garden and donate some of your produce to SVDPP.
- Buy some seeds and grow your own flowers or plants to sell.
- Children can also participate in various fun service-learning projects that address hunger over the internet. For example, if you have access to a computer and the internet, introduce your children to the United Nations World Food Program to help end hunger - http://www.freerice.com. This Twenty Grains of Rice website offers an English multiple-choice vocabulary test. For each word they define correctly, 20 grains of rice are donated. To date--over 66 Billion grains have been donated!
Email us your creative ideas so that we can share them on this website. Hopefully others will join in to help make your efforts successful. Don’t delay, start today!
St. Vincent de Paul Place | 2:07 AM
January Needs list includes Silverware
Tuesday - January 25, 2011
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU.
Christmas at St. Vincent de Paul Place was a wonderful success.
We served 200 people dinner Christmas Day and each was offered a gift as they left. A good number of new volunteers helped with the prep and serving. Many of these volunteers are getting this email newsletter for the first time.
o Thanks and Welcome !
We also gave out food to many families who came in days before the holiday desperately looking for a way to celebrate with their family at home. We received a good number of donated turkeys which we gave to larger families.
Two weeks before the holiday, we were able to give out books. One grandmother broke into tears when she knew she would have something to give her granddaughters. While some mothers sat down right away and started reading to their children.
One delightful young mother struggled to ask for a specific book. She did not speak English and we could not figure out her request. She returned with a friend who spoke her native language, Portuguese. The woman desperately wanted a book that would teach her English. Wow, was she happy when we gave her an English- Portuguese dictionary. It is our hope to get her into some classes also.
We Need
1. We are looking for stainless steel silverware. Maybe an old set you are no longer using. The silverware is used everyday at breakfast and lunch. As a result, we are running low; anything offered can be used.
2. We are also short of pasta sauce and peanut butter in the pantry. I will be forwarding emails from one of our favorite shoppers, Ann Sheedy. She can find a good deal better than anyone I know.
3. We always need sugar, toilet paper, paper towels, strong dishwashing liquid, and napkins.
4. With the cold weather our supply of men’s gloves is completely gone. We also need deodorant for men and women.
· A Christmas Story -- THE CHRISTMAS JAR
The week before Christmas a family, who we will call the Smith’s, brought in a jar of coins labeled “the Christmas Jar.” The Smith’s collected their change throughout the year and wanted to donate the sum to someone in need; this year they decided to bring it to SVDPP.
When Jillian, the director, accepted the jar she immediately thought of a client who had been in the week before. This client felt lost. Her husband suffered from an addiction and as a result, abandoned his family. He left them four months behind on rent and without income. Needless to say her world was turned upside-down.
Jillian told the Smith family that it was her intention to give the jar to this family; which was in dire straits for the first time. Even though the money would not cover the four months rent, this family needed help.
Mrs. Smith said yes, but with one condition; she wanted to write a letter to accompany the jar. She wrote, from one mother to another, telling her own story. The letter explained that about ten years ago the Smith’s had gone through a difficult time very similar to the client’s experience. And that now after much work their family had made it to a better place. She urged the mother to not give up hope.
On Christmas Eve, Jillian was able to deliver the Christmas Jar and its very special message to a family that needed, more than anything, to hear a message of hope.
· Okay one more story -- LARGE STUFFED ANIMAL FINDS A HOME
Two women came in asking if they might be eligible to get some food from the pantry. We went through the usual process and agreed they would come once a week. As they walked away one of the women, Jane, turned and asked a favor.
It seems she was taking care of a five year old girl, five days a week because the mom was unable. We of course immediately added the girl to the list. This allowed her to get food for the girl as if she were Jane’s own child.
As they walked away the volunteer filling out the form asked on impulse if Jane had a Christmas gift for the five year old. The volunteer knew there was a four and a half foot stuffed animal in the basement waiting for a home. She did not know, however, what character the animal depicted.
When the volunteer brought the stuffed animal up from the basement and handed it to Jane both she and her friend began to cry. Mystified by the response the volunteer inquired if something was wrong. Then Jane looked up and said nothing was wrong, in fact, all was right; this four foot high creature was the five year olds favorite cartoon character.
It was only then that the volunteer learned that she had had none other than Scooby Doo tucked away in the basement waiting for the perfect home. And he was dressed in a Wizard costume.
We heard last week that Scooby sleeps with his new owner every night.
Remember do not return email to this email address we do not monitor it daily.
Instead respond to
Jillian Corbin at jcsvdpp@gmail.com
OrCorinne Kelly at cksvdpp@gmail.com
If you choose not to receive these emails feel free to email us a note asking to be removed from the list
St. Vincent de Paul Place | 3:06 PM
Christmas List Check it Twice!
Wednesday - December 1, 2010
GIFTS
Here is a list of most needed items. Pick an item and buy as many as you can afford and bring them in in bulk. We will package them.
Bars of soap
Toothpaste and brushes
Shampoo
Deodorant
Shaving cream
Razors
Wash rags
Clothing gifts for men and women
Hats
Warm gloves
Socks
We have asked for these in miracle boxes before. We need the items more than the box.
Shopping bags
We need the reusable shopping bags that usually sell for one dollar. We will use these instead of wrapping paper. We will use them in the pantry and for gifts for people coming to Christmas Dinner
Vegetables for the Kitchen
Do you have a membership to BJ’s? The kitchen needs number ten cans of green beans and other vegetables. We use 6 to 8 cans for a meal.
Adopt a familyWe have several families that need gifts for their children. If being Santa is something you enjoy email Corinne at cksvdpp@gmail.com and I will forward your name to our committee.
St. Vincent de Paul Place | 10:48 AM
Childrens Books
Wednesday - December 1, 2010
SVDPP BOOK GIVE AWAY
We begin Dec. 11 and go through Dec. 18. We still need books for children of all ages. Please bring new books for Christmas. We will do a used book distribution in February.
Please try to get your books to us by Dec. 8
St. Vincent de Paul Place | 10:41 AM