Society of St. Vincent de Paul's "House in a Box" Helps Give Tornado Victims a Fresh Start

National program also receives funding support from American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the Jewish Federation

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Feb 25, 2014, 08:30 ET

PEORIA, Ill., Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When tornadoes tore through several communities around Illinois in November, several thousand families suffered property damage with many losing everything.

To aid in responding to this need, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is launching their "House in a Box" program on February 20. The national program has supported families after Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the Texas wildfires, the Oklahoma tornadoes, the Colorado floods, and the West TX plant explosion.

New household furnishings are purchased for families without insurance and for whom it will be difficult to replace everything they lost. The program includes beds, dressers, sofa, dining table & chairs, pots & pans, dishes, glassware, silverware, bedding, towels, and more.

Tom Pelger, the Society's Council President for the 26 counties in central Illinois served by the Peoria Diocese, said, "We've been working with the Long Term Recovery Committee since the tornadoes, providing immediate assistance with Red Cross, Salvation Army, and others. Disaster case managers are reaching out to families to see how they're progressing in their recovery. The 'House in a Box' provides a new start for the most vulnerable families who've lost everything. It gives them hope for the future. It's a great first step on their road to recovery."

The program is sponsored by the Peoria Council of Society of St. Vincent de Paul, with partner funding support from the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the Jewish Federation. Catholic Charities has made their SHARE warehouse available as the distribution center. Several area organizations are supplying volunteers to help in the distribution.

Tom Pelger said, "The breadth of participation in this program is a great example of how our community has pulled together to support the tornado survivors."

Tornado survivors interested in being considered for the 'House in a Box' program should call (309) 677-7696.

About the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (www.svdpusa.org) is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of more than 770,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 149 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals more than 148,000 in 4,300 communities. Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, transportation and utility costs, care for the sick, the incarcerated and the elderly, and prescription medicine. Last year, SVdP provided more than $755 million in tangible and in-kind services, made more than 1.6 million person-to-person visits (homes, hospitals and prisons), and helped almost 15 million people regardless of race, religion or national origin.

Read more news from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

SOURCE Society of St. Vincent de Paul