The St. Vincent DePaul Society is hosting a fundraiser and awareness event this weekend they hope will be able to help those in poverty in Knox and Hamlet.
The organization is run through volunteers based out of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Knox and over the last couple of years has developed a knack for assisting those in poverty with utility bills, rent payments, and other needs.
Co-Chair for the event Linda Kelly says they have no overhead.
“Every dollar that’s raised will stay in this community,” says Kelly. “Our conference serves Knox and Hamlet. This is a simple and visible way to bring attention to the problem of poverty and raise funds for those in our community.”
The St. Vincent DePaul society is an international organization consisting of about 800-thousand members, and recently celebrated its 175th year in existence.
This weekend, the group is hosting its first annual Friends of the Poor Walk/Run at Wythogan Park in Knox. On September 24th, the event will begin at Shelter 1 with registration for the event beginning at 9:00 a.m. The race begins an hour later.
Organizer Mary Klinefin says the organization operates with only a cellphone.
“I think anything that we get will be helpful to our community,” says Klinefin. “I think we’ve done pretty well over the few years that we’ve been in operation. We have put $28-thousand back into the community.”
St. Vincent DePaul Society members often make an in-house visit to assess the needs of those desiring help.
14 members of the local chapter help to raise funds to fulfill their objectives.
