The St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Thomas More Church is committed to helping those less fortunate in our immediate area, within zip codes 77035 and 77096. The volunteers operate a food pantry, which is open on Tuesday and Thursday each week, from 9-11:00 a.m. and 1-3 p.m and on the third Saturday of the month from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.  The parish is the main provider of food and funds for the Society's operations, We are always in need of non-perishable food donations and cash. Cash donations allow us to make bulk purchases which increases our purchasing power.

Volunteers also make home visits to those requesting financial assistance and assess further needs. If further needs are identified, appropriate referrals to resources at the parish or in the community will be made.

We also are interested in talking to all those who might want to volunteer.

To inquire about what services might be available to you, please contact the food pantry office at 713-980-3113, or The St. Thomas More office, 713-729-0221.

 

During the month of December 640 individuals were fed with 152 bags of groceries, and 11 families were provided with $2,200 in rent, utility or furniture assistance.  Your gifts of food and financial donations on Gift Sunday were much appreciated!  This gives the Society a healthy start in the New Year to continue its mission.
 
Christmas Gift Sunday gifts were shared with 26 families served by the SVdP food pantry.  Thank you for bringing Christ’s joy and hope to these families.  A special thanks to Kathia Raneri, Jacob Broussard, and Trevor Whitfield for choosing to serve with the Society of SVdP this Christmas season and to the Kindergarten class of STM
for their treat bags.

Kathia, a 10 ^th grader in girl scout troop 21012, prepared 25 lentil soup kits including a recipe for each of the SVdP family gift recipients, helped sort gifts and distribute gifts to SVdP families.  With this service project, Kathia will earn her Spirit Alive Award.  This award helps the Scout discover how the Holy Spirit moves in her life, calling her to greater participation in the Church's ministry.
             
Jacob, a 10th grader earning service hours for Strake Jesuit jumped into the Gift Sunday program by hanging gift wish tags on the giving tree.  He spent several trips loading and unloading groceries from the Winter food drive and sorted gifts until his father “dragged” him home to study for his finals.  He then returned on the 18 ^th to help restock and organize the pantry.

Trevor, a former STM student and now an Elkins HS Senior, has faithfully served alongside his grandmother, Suzanne, stocking the pantry after countless food drives and summer time deliveries from the Houston Food Bank. He volunteered once again for a third year to help with Gift Sunday activities.
 
The pantry also received an abundance of Christmas treat bags prepared by the Kindergarten class at STM - a tradition of giving over many years. These special bags are still being distributed to our friends in need!   We are immensely grateful for all our youth who join us in service to our community.

THANK YOU!  The SVdP food drive was a huge success - the shelves are now full!  Your donations together with our Houston Food Bank partnership and donations from friends of STM parish, the SVdP pantry is able to provide neighbors in need with a variety of food, including fresh produce, dairy, bread and other baked goods.  Thank you for your continued generosity and support. 

Pantry Hours

Tuesdays & Thursdays
9:00 - 11:00 am
1:00 - 3:00 pm

Third Saturday of the Month
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
 

"Charity is the cement that binds Communities to God and persons to one another..."  St. Vincent de Paul

 

Vincent de Paul was born to a peasant family in Gascony. Though he later achieved fame for his dedication to the poor, his early life was spent in a determined struggle to escape his humble roots. For this goal, he chose a career in the priesthood. After ordination, his charm and social skills gained him entry into the highest levels of society. A turning point came in midlife, when he was summoned to hear the dying confession of a peasant. He was struck as never before by the seriousness of his vocation and determined afterward that his priesthood would be dedicated to service of the poor.

Eventually he established a mission congregation—later known as the Vincentians—and, with St. Louise de Marillac, founded the Daughters of Charity to serve the poor and sick. There were few charitable projects in which Vincent was not engaged. He founded hospitals and orphanages as well as homes for the humane care of the mentally infirm. He ministered to prisoners and galley slaves and became, already in his lifetime, something of a legend. The rich and powerful vied to endow his projects, while the poor accepted him as one of their own. His spirituality was based on the encounter with Christ in the needs of one’s neighbors. As he instructed his priests and sisters, “The poor are your masters and you are their servants.”

He died on September 27, 1660, at the age of eighty. He was later named patron of all charitable societies.

A little history: The Society of St. Vincent de Paul began in Paris, France, in 1833, i.e., 173 years after the death of St. Vincent de Paul, when a 23 year old law student at the University of Sorbonne, Frederic Ozanam, was challenged during a debate to demonstrate what he and his fellow Catholic students were personally doing to help the poor living in the slums of Paris. Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity, mentored Frederic and the first members of the Society on the art of helping the sick and the poor by sending them on home visits in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul.

It was in St. Louis, Missouri where the first meeting of the Society in the United States was held on November 20, 1845, only 12 years after the founding in Paris. As of 2019, SVDP has been in the US for 174 years.