By Nick Lewison
When March bounces in, there are games to be played, tournaments to narrow down the best teams, and finally championships to be won. Before the championships can be won, there needs to be teamwork from each member of the team. The member could be a manager in charge of filling water bottles, a trainer who looks after the physical needs of the players, and coaches that manage the different aspects of the game. At St. Vincent de Paul, in Yellowstone County, we too have to have many different teams working together to accomplish our mission of serving the poor.
The team members in our Charity Office were able to help 204 households with rent totaling $62,174 paid directly to landlords. There were 180 households assisted with utilities (water, gas, and electric), totaling $31,709. Our team also assisted individuals with 475 bus passes used locally to get to their jobs, or medical appointments totaling $1,800. These are not the only areas our Charity Office provides assistance in. In order for our team to continue to be successful, new ideas come into play. One of these has been our fairly new Baby Basic Program. This program has provided $1,360 for cribs and essentials for babies.
The Adult Education to train CNA’s, GED’s, and others to gain a certificate to help them become more self-sufficient. Project R.E.B.O.O.T was created to help students in need with a computer. To date we have donated almost 60 full functioning computer units to students. Anyone looking for work or has completed training, Job Service has come in and helped 129 people who have been looking for work.
Riverstone Health brings their own team into St. Vincent de Paul to aid, evaluate, and refer individuals to specialized care they may need twice a week. They have their own space in the Charity Office and administrated to 820 people. While the team has new ideas and game plans implemented, they must also continue doing the basic programs we have done since we began in 1972. We continue to feed the hungry with 23,536 lunches, 41,357 pounds of bread, and soup donated by individuals, parishes, and our own kitchen. We continue to give clothing to those in need, especially during the winter months. St. Vincent de Paul spent $3,882 locally for hats, gloves, and long underwear. There are two sets of washers and dryers that see constant use while the Charity is open helping 1,588 individuals and families. The Holiday Season proved to be very busy with our Christmas party, and the fifteenth year in a row working with the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots and Family Service to serve over 838 families with gifts. Any cash donations that are sent to St. Vincent de Paul are used for our programs unless designated for something else.
Some of our team members work quietly on the side lines, one is our payee program. We have over 100 accounts that are maintained by two payee representatives and a host of volunteers. The team helps some of our friends manage their money to pay bills, and make sure it lasts the month.
Our Thrift Stores are key players on the team at St. Vincent de Paul as well. They sell donations of clothing, toys, household items, antiques, and an array of other items. The teams at the stores add to the display and change their contents often. Anyone looking for seasonal goods or unique items at reasonable prices can be found here. The Charity Office gives out certificates to be redeemed at our Thrift Stores. There were 1,159 households given the opportunity to choose clothing, and household goods for $64,963. The support from our shoppers and donors make this all possible.
We recycle what is unable to be used or sold. There were 60,835 pounds of scrap metal, and 116,975 pounds of unsellable clothing, shoes, and material. All the money generated in the stores goes to pay utilities and other expenses accumulated by our operations, as well as wages of our 30 employees currently on staff. Without the generous support of our volunteers (15,296 hours), donors, and our teams at St. Vincent de Paul, we could not preform our mission.
Thank you to everyone involved in Billings District Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Yellowstone County, without each of you we could not put together such a great team. If anyone is interested in joining our team please call Vicki at 406-252-1855 ex. 313 or Ed Zabrocki at 252-1855 ex.301. GO TEAM! 
Please help us continue
