Society of St. Vincent de Paul Awards $20K in Grants to Help Needy in Eight Communities

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) today awarded $20,000 in grants to help eight communities in four states. Ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, the grants are part of the Society's annual Friends of the Poor® grant program and will provide assistance to the needy, including food, utility bills, housing and rent assistance, and medicine.  

The current funding cycle provided grants from the National Council to the Society's Eastern and Northeastern regions. SVdP locations receiving the grants for this cycle are in: Eatontown, N.J.; Hatfield, Pa.; Waldorf, Md.; and five communities in Massachusetts: Dorchester, Malden, Plymouth, Salem and Westport.  

This disbursement is part of $80,000 in Friends of the Poor® grants that the Society will make this year throughout the United States. Grant applications are reviewed and awarded annually on a regional basis. Funding comes from the general public and the Society's 146,000 members around the country, and are targeted to specific needs in each community that are above and beyond those available to the organization's locations.

"Reviews for funding are rigorous and ensure accountability from initial application to the awards," said Roger Playwin, SVdP's national executive director.

One of the oldest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (http://www.svdpusa.org) is a Catholic lay organization of more than 690,000 men and women throughout the world who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually and offer person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 142 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals more than 146,000 in 4,600 communities. Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining rooms, clothing, transportation and utility costs, care for the elderly and medicine. SVdP serves over 14 million people in need each year, performs more than 644,000 visits to people in their homes, and delivers more than seven million service hours to those in need.

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SOURCE Society of St. Vincent de Paul