|
Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha
March 2023 Newsletter
| | |
|
|
Supporting our neighbors in need through spirituality, friendship and service;
providing emergency food, clothing, financial and in-kind assistance/homeless prevention
| |
|
Message from our Executive Director, Jill Lynch-Sosa | |
"Here I Am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.” | |
|
Dear SSVP Friends,
This (above) refrain from the beautiful liturgical hymn – “Here I Am, Lord”, by Dan Schutte – haunted me as a young adult, whenever I heard it sung. I felt as if it was speaking directly to me, and it always brought a tear to my eye. You see, I had long thought I wanted something different for my life – something more self-serving. But, the words and melody of this song would gently remind me that I had a calling, a vocation, a higher purpose…even if I wasn’t ready to acknowledge it at the moment.
Once I acknowledged that the song (and, indeed, my own Lord) was truly speaking to me, I set off on years of volunteer work – serving some of the poorest people on earth – which I referenced in my previous letters to you. When I eventually returned to the United States with my growing family, I was definitely in “mama mode”. My focus had shifted, once again; I wanted, and needed, to provide for my family.
Fast forward 25 years…and that song got stuck back in my head!
“…if You lead me, I will hold Your people in my heart.”
During my time with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha, I’ve been learning so many things, including the fact that WE can hold His people in OUR hearts. Most assuredly, the work of the Society is the work of our entire community, and WE NEED YOU! You may ask yourself, what can I do? Well, EVERYONE has something they can contribute to helping our neighbors in need, be it time, talent, and/or tidings. We can utilize all three!
We very much appreciate in-kind donations to our pantry, thrift stores and our Holy Family’s sack lunch and clothing ministries. We also rely on and are grateful for the financial support we receive, in order to help prevent our neighbors in the midst of a financial crisis from falling into homelessness. And, we definitely are in need of, and thankful for the efforts of our volunteers, in support of all of the programs and services we offer.
So, if you would like to consider helping hold His people in YOUR heart by volunteering, please visit the Volunteer Information page on our website, found HERE. You’re also more than welcome to be in touch with me, directly - at executivedirector@ssvpomaha.org - in order to brainstorm ideas of how your interests and skills might fit into our volunteer opportunities and programs. You may very well be surprised at what we’re able to come up with!
And, as an added bonus….You may be interested to learn about the medical and mental health benefits that sustained volunteering has for the volunteer. If you have a couple of minutes, check out this quick, insightful article, “The Health Benefits of Volunteering”, by Dr. Robert Moghim, found HERE.
Gratefully,
| |
|
Meet Pantry Volunteer, Gary Henningsen!
Gary Henningsen has been a SSVP Food Pantry volunteer since 2008, after retiring from a career as legal counsel with the US Army Corps of Engineers. “After I retired,” shares Gary, “I had some time for self-reflection, and I felt like I had had a very blessed life. And, I knew I wanted to be involved in service to help others, in a sense, to give back what I had received.”
A friend of Gary’s who was a Food Pantry volunteer suggested to him to “come on down” to the pantry and volunteer. “So, I did”, states Gary, “and here I am 15 years later!”
Currently, Gary volunteers 2 to 3 days a week at the SSVP Food Pantry. Mondays and Wednesdays, he helps re-stock shelves with food. Every other Thursday, Gary serves as a Food Pantry Companion, which consists of helping individuals and families who seek assistance navigate the pantry space, ensuring they’re able to find the food and other items they need.
When asked about how he likes serving in the pantry, without hesitation Gary replies, “I LOVE it! I enjoy re-stocking the shelves with food, making them look nice for our neighbors who will `shop’ there later. Even doing the little things, like making sure the labels are turned forward makes their experience just a little bit better.”
“I also thoroughly enjoy interacting with the neighbors who stop by, seeking assistance. They’re really great, nice, so polite – and grateful. I enjoy listening to the personal stories of these neighbors, who sometimes will share a little bit about their lives with me. And I sometimes will share a little bit about myself with them.”
“I always make sure they get what they need,” continues Gary. “Sometimes a pantry visitor will ask for a particular item of food, or maybe a second can or package of something. In my opinion, the answer most of the time should be `yes’. Food is one of the few most critical things in life, and I love to be able to help provide that!”
In closing…When asked about how his volunteer efforts fits into his faith life, Gary was clear: ”Helping others is an integral part of our…part of my Catholic faith, and especially serving the poor and those in need. This volunteer work fits beautifully into the Catholic teaching of putting faith into action."
| |
|
Are you looking for ways to make an even greater impact on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha and on our neighbors in need? Please consider any of the following volunteer options!
Food Pantry Volunteers
We are looking for a volunteer driver – to support our Food Pantry – who could use their own vehicle in picking up around a dozen boxes of food from the 24th & Vinton Family Fare grocery store and bringing the donations to our pantry at 2101 Leavenworth Street. This would occur sometime during the morning hours, every other Monday. Please contact our Food Pantry Manager, Gayle Reyes, at pantrymanager@svdpomaha.com for more information.
Our Food Pantry also has a need for “On Call” volunteer drivers who have a vehicle – preferably a truck – who could pick up food drives…often from schools or churches…and bring the food to our Food Pantry, located at 2101 Leavenworth Street. There is no set schedule for when these drives occur (hence the “on call” nature of this volunteer position). For more information, please contact our Food Pantry Manager, Gayle Reyes, at pantrymanager@svdpomaha.com.
Pantry “Garden Angel” Volunteers
Associated with our Food Pantry is our Pantry Garden, also located at 2101 Leavenworth Street. The garden’s volunteer leaders are gearing up for a new crop of produce - to be given out to our neighbors in need who utilize our pantry's services - and they are looking for Pantry “Garden Angel" volunteers to help tend the garden. If you are interested in such a volunteer commitment, please contact Pat Slaven at mpslaven035@gmail.com.
Helpline Volunteers
Are you a good listener? We are searching for volunteers to return calls to those who reach out to us in their time of need through our SSVP Helpline. Plenty of training and mentorship is available.
There are a variety of volunteer positions available, each with specific needed skillsets, including ability to perform “behind-the-scenes” administrative duties, in order to collect documents needed for successful processing of neighbor assistance requests. Good decision-making and problem-solving skills are also needed to provide the best outcome for our neighbors. In addition, good communication skills are very important, in order to return neighbors' voice mails and emails.
All positions can be performed remotely or at the district office, here at 1715 Izard Street. Volunteer time commitment can be as much as you would like, but would require at least one day per month. Please email Kristina at conferencesupport@svdpomaha.com for more information.
| |
|
Duchesne Academy Volunteers!
For the past two weeks, three seniors from Duchesne Academy High School have been volunteering six hours a day at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Omaha’s Holy Family Community Center. Participating in Duchesne’s Senior Service Immersion Experience, Gianna Manhart, Grace Hoarty & Caroline Swartz have provided meaningful helpful assistance, while also gaining an insight into the services that SSVP provides and the people we serve.
Duchesne’s Senior Service Immersion Experience is designed to extend the girls’ “classroom experience to the wider Omaha and global community…serving others and accompanying staff at area nonprofits, schools, and ministries. During this experience, students contemplate their responsibility to create a more hopeful future, learn to deal realistically with their gifts and limitations, serve the common good, analyze injustice, initiate a life-long commitment to service, and form themselves according to the attitudes of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, such as gratitude, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness.”
Whether it was making and distributing sack lunches and coffee or providing clothing to our homeless neighbors, painting or cleaning our Holy Family facility, preparing our community garden for planting or building birdhouses for our grounds, Gianna, Grace and Caroline brightened the lives of our staff and clients, alike. On behalf of our SSVP and Holy Family communities, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Gianna, Grace and Caroline for their amazing volunteer service!
| |
Ministerial Outreach to Homeless Neighbors
Archdiocesan Chancellor, Deacon Tim McNeil
| |
Two to three times each week, Deacon Tim McNeil – Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha – spends a few hours outside our Holy Family Community Center, ministering to our homeless neighbors who gather each day. Whether they’re grabbing a cup of coffee, receiving clothing or a sack lunch through our various “door” ministries, Deacon McNeil offers a compassionate presence and a friendly ear to these neighbors in need.
McNeil stopped by Holy Family on Ash Wednesday, administering ashes. “I wasn’t surprised that so many of them wished to receive the ashes, shares McNeil, “as they are often very glad to pray with me, or they ask me to pray for them.”
Deacon McNeil has been associated with Holy Family ministries for around seven years, helping with our sack lunch program and street outreach. However, McNeil has been around homelessness since he was very young, as his family founded the Stephen Center shelter in south Omaha.
Deacon McNeil feels very much at home serving the homeless, making it a point “to take the time to listen to their stories,” he shares. “And, I’ll tell you something else. Even though I’ve been around homelessness nearly my entire life, ministering to the folks at Holy Family has taught me that each of them really just wants to be seen as a unique person…with a name and a face and a story. THAT is really what my ministry is all about.”
| |
|
Thrift Stores
Staff Recognition Breakfast
On Thursday morning, March 2nd, SSVP Thrift Stores’ leadership hosted their “Staff Recognition Breakfast”, here at our Holy Family Community Center. With approximately 30 store employees in attendance, this very fun event was a great opportunity to honor the important work of our dedicated thrift store employees.
| |
Stores Director, Roxanne Kahn & Stores Logistics Manager, Pat Dytrych (pictured above) gave out awards to a number of staff members. Mixed Martial Artist and community leader, Houston Alexander (pictured on the left) provided an inspirational talk about the importance of service to our community and to people in need – which are definitely embodied by our thrift store staff members!
| |
Kudos to all the thrift store employees who help advance our mission by the work you do in the stores. You are an essential part of our team! | |
Ancient Order of Hibernians & Irish Charities of Nebraska | |
A big thank you goes out to the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Irish Charities of Nebraska which recently donated over 1,100 pounds of hamburger to St. Vincent de Paul Omaha’s food pantry. Irish Charities of Nebraska President, John Farnan, shares his thoughts on the groups’ service and this extraordinary donation: “We raise funds to purchase the hamburger through a couple of events and private fundraising efforts. Making this donation to St. Vincent de Paul’s pantry is one of our favorite events of the year, as it means so much to the guys to be able to provide food for people in need.” | | | | |
