St. Vincent Thrift Store Re-Opening
 
            St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrift Store, located at 2540 N. Pacific Highway in Medford, will reopen on Thursday, May 28, following all suggested COVID-19 safety precautions.
            “Early in the epidemic we closed our store per State guidelines,” said Ralph Browning, Store Conference President.  “This loss of revenue created a large financial setback for our entire operation since we normally generated significant income from the store.”
            Current plans are for the store to open three days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10 am until 4 pm.  In addition to retail operations, St. Vincent’s will also accept donations, and keep them in a separate warehouse for a 72-hour disinfecting period.
            With finances drastically reduced, St. Vincent’s reached out to local businesses, foundations and the general public.  “We are especially indebted to the Oregon Community Foundation and its Walker Fund,” said Council President John Vinateri.  “We also received generous support from Providence Health & Services, All Care, The Carpenter Foundation, the Morris Family Foundation, the Naumes Family Foundation and many other corporate and individual donors.”
             Re-opening the Thrift Store will not cover St. Vincent’s financial needs overnight, so community support will still be vital.
             To safeguard its volunteers and our clients, St. Vincent’s has temporarily closed its Dining Room and no longer serves sit-down hot lunches.  Instead, volunteers prepare sack lunches in advance and hand them out between 11 am and 1 pm.  Similarly, we closed the formal Food Pantry distribution on the last Fridays of the month.  Instead, anyone coming for a sack lunch is welcome to bags of groceries.
            The Emergency Family Shelter remains open, but is not accepting new clients at this time.
            The Social Services offices are closed to the public and operate by telephone only (541-772-3828).  Priority is given to those who are newly unemployed, and assistance is offered with rent and utility bills. 
            The Urban Rest Stop (showers and laundry) remains closed.
 
No reopening date has been set for any of these services.  

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St. Vincent de Paul - Rogue Valley District Council

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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in France in 1883 to help the poor and destitute of Paris. 

The Rogue Valley District Council was established in 1982 to serve the poor and needy in Jackson County. Our all-volunteer staff serve all who come regardless of race, creed, religion or ethnic origin. 

We are committed to ensuring that the poor and needy of Jackson County have a safety net of support and encouragement. No work of charity is foreign to St. Vincent de Paul.  

Over 270 part-time volunteers provide all staffing and services, providing almost 84,890 volunteer hours in 2018.

Support for Families and Individuals in Need in 2019

  • Homeless Family shelter - We provided 6,180 bed nights. Emphasis is on emergency needs of parents with children.
  • Hot lunches and groceries – 44 volunteers provided 59,000 hot lunches, served Monday through Friday. The pantry supplies bagged groceries on the third and fourth Fridays of each month. We distributed 6,885 sacks of groceries, a 4-day supply in each sack, and 5,500 "no-cook" bags to our homeless clients who lack cooking facilities. We are also members of the Medford Food Project.  Our goal is for no one to be without food in Jackson County.
  • Urban Rest Stop – Volunteers provided over 7,155 showers and 5,130 loads of laundry for the homeless.
  • Advocacy/social service support –14 trained counselors helped 12,000 individuals with job training, utility bills, rental assistance, shelter and other necessities.  Designed to give people a "hand-up, not just a hand-out".
  • Home visits – 1,462 individuals visited in Ashland, Talent, Central Point, Medford and other locations in Jackson County. 

St. Vincent de Paul, 2424 N. Pacific Highway (Hwy 99), Medford, Oregon 97501, 541-772-3828


Leading with Vincentian Spirit 
From the writings of St. Vincent de Paul

“The streets will be long and unfriendly. The stairs will be steep, and the poor often ungrateful. You will find that charity is a heavy burden to carry – heavier than the bowl of soup, heavier than the full basket, but you will keep your gentleness and your smile.

It is not enough to give bread and soup. This the rest can do. You are the servant of the poor. You are always smiling. You are always good humored. The poor are your masters. You will find them terribly exacting. So the more unjust and insulting they are, the more unattractive they are, the more dirty they are, the more love you must give them. It is for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the crust of bread you give them.”


The Mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

The Rogue Valley Council of St. Vincent de Paul is dedicated to providing compassionate support to the poor, regardless of race, creed, sex, sexual orientation or ethnic origin.  Each Council is locally organized, funded and staffed.  Our Council has no financial obligation to any church and no effort is made to preach, convert or proselytize. 
 
We have no paid employees and rely on 300+ volunteers to provide all of our services.  We own our own land and buildings, so pay no rent or mortgage.  Overhead costs such as insurance, utilities and repairs are paid for from Thrift Store revenues.  All donations we receive go directly to helping the needy.

 St. Vincent de Paul has been featured in two "Providence Minute" segments starring Fr. Jim Clifford and airing on NBC KOBI5.
Check them out:

SVDP Annual Report for 2019

annual_report_2019.pdf
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File Type: pdf
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Society of St.Vincent de Paul

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We are dedicated to turning no individual in need away. In addition, we often receive referrals from other community agencies who are unable to help. 

Our facilities consist of four buildings on nearly four acres of land:
  • The Thrift Store sells donated
    items to the public and provides  free clothing, household necessities and furniture to those in need, using a voucher system. 
  • The main building contains our Emergency Family Shelter, Kitchen, Dining Room, Social Services, Food Pantry, and administrative offices. Attached to this building is the Urban Rest Stop which includes a waiting room, shower and laundry area.
  • Two warehouse buildings are used to store furniture, food pallets, school supplies, and seasonal items needed for the store.