Category: Uncategorized

SVdP Chicago, in partnership with the Academy of St. Benedict the African and the Greater Chicago Food Depository is hosting a Mobile Produce Pantry on May 11, 2021 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. All who are in need within the community are welcome! The event takes place in front of the school entrance on Justine St. For driving directions, please use the school’s address 6020 S. Laflin Ave Chicago, IL 60636.

We will be hosting Community Mobile Food Pantries at the school over the summer months on June 8, July 13, and August 10. On all dates the hours of distribution will be from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

If you would like to volunteer to help us in our efforts to set up, distribute food items, and clean up, please contact us! You can call the main office at (773) 779-6700 or email Jen Ahern at jen@svdpchicago.org.

Today we have the opportunity to change the lives of a family! The St. Gilbert’s SVdP Conference in Grayslake is seeking a vehicle donation for a friend in need. The vehicle will be given to a single mother with 3 children, an 11-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old son, and a 4-year-old son, who has been renting a small motel room. She is participating in the IL Link Program to help feed her family and has been working periodically for a temporary service company. The lack of reliable transportation makes full-time employment extremely difficult. A trustworthy vehicle will enable this mother to provide a more stable environment for her children to grow and flourish, and place the family on a pathway to better tomorrows!

If you, or someone you know, has a vehicle that they would like to donate to help make a difference in this hard-working mother’s life, please contact:

Robert Palo – SVdP St. Gilbert President
palofamily@sbcglobal.net

Your support is most appreciated, thank you!

God Bless,
Harry Ohde
CEO/President SVdP Chicago, ADC

SVdP Chicago is hosting a New and Improved Ozanam Orientation on May 17, 18, and 19 2021. It is a 3-part webinar series that will begin at 1:00 pm each afternoon. End times: 5/17- 3:30 pm, 5/18- 3:45 pm, 5/19 -3:00 pm

In order to get credit for attending this required program, you must attend all three parts. You may attend one or two of the parts now and pick up the rest at a later date. This is a virtual interactive presentation rather than in-person training and requires your attendance through the use of a computer, iPad, Smartphone, or like device. To participate, you cannot attend simply by telephone (landline) because you must see the presentation as well as hear it. Additional Information will be sent when you register.

Who should attend?
– New members – to learn who we are, what we are about, and how you can help to transform our culture.
– Existing members – to get reacquainted with how you can help to transform our culture.

What Will Be Discussed?
– As a Member, Do You Know Your Title?
– What is Our History?
– What is Vincentian Spirituality?
– What are SVdP’s Cultural Beliefs?
– What are SVdP’s Key Results?
– What is SVdP Culture?
– How You Can Help Transform SVdP?
– Do You Understand Poverty?
– Why do we make Home Visits?

Register Today! Email Mike Syslo at mike.syslo@outlook.com with your Name, Conference, District, Phone, Home Address, and Email Address. Additional information will be sent to you via email after you register.

The Eviction Moratorium in the state of Illinois has been extended until April 3, 2021, which allows those impacted by COVID-19 to remain in their residences despite late and missed payments. Just this week, the CDC has signed an extension on the agency’s moratorium on evictions through June 30, further preventing the eviction of tenants who are unable to make rental payments.

Click here to read the full CDC Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19

We know from talking to the many that reach out to SVdP Chicago for rental and utility bill assistance, that missed payments are piling up and a looming crisis hangs over the heads of many as they attempt to keep current with household bills while working to catch up with late rent balances. “About 42% of Illinois residents are behind in their rent due to COVID,” said Karla Chrobak of CARPLS, a Chicago-based legal aid organization. “We’re talking millions of dollars of back rent, millions.”

In Suburban Cook County there is financial help available to assist renters now. Applications are now open for the Cook County Emergency Rental Assistance program. It pays up to $15,000 to help cover 12 months of missed rent and utilities payments and up to 3 months of future rent payments. Payments will be made directly to the landlord and utility company. The deadline to apply has been extended and applications now open until April 9 at 5:00 pm.

Click here for the online application and more details

Sometime in April or May, the state of Illinois expects to open up its Emergency Rental Assistance program where renters can apply up to $25,000. Same for Chicago residents, who will have their own program with no financial cap.   Click here for Illinois rental assistance resources
All programs are run like a lottery system and an application is not a guarantee. We are hoping these current and forthcoming resources can be of use to the friends in need SVdP Chicago Council, Districts, and Conferences serve.

On Sunday, April 18, 2021, our SVdP Chicago Council is having its first-time ever, Top Hat Variety Show! It has been a difficult year for many of us and this is an opportunity for all of the Council’s Vincentians to come together for an afternoon. This virtual event will feature entertainment by our very own talented members, highlights of our Conferences’ charitable works during the pandemic, and prize-winning games and raffle. The primary focus for our Top Hat Variety Show is to provide a fun, entertaining opportunity for members to connect with one another and to keep up the camaraderie that was built at our past in-person events going strong! Let’s celebrate hope for the future and give thanks for the many rays of sunlight that peeked through this past year. Register to attend the event here!     Learn how you can become an event sponsor click here!         Make a donation!

SVdP Chicago Council is hosting the Top Hat Variety Show to raise funds to support the Districts, Conferences, and Vincentian programs that help local friends in need. The impact of COVID-19 has greatly increased the number of individuals and families seeking assistance for food, clothing, rental payments, utility bill payments, and medication/medical financial support. We are experiencing a surge in the volume of calls coming into the Council’s central office that do not fall within the jurisdiction of a conference. The Eviction Moratorium in the state of Illinois has recently been extended until April 3, 2021, which allows those impacted by COVID-19 to remain in their residences despite late and missed payments. However, we know that missed payments are piling up and a looming crisis hangs over the heads of many as they attempt to keep current with household bills while working to catch up with late rent balances.

This is one of the many examples of how SVdP Chicago will be in demand to provide support to our friends in need this spring and summer. Looking forward into 2021, SVdP Chicago would also like to invest in establishing two food banks to serve the Chicagoland area and help make a difference in the fight against hunger. Funds raised for the Top Hat Variety Show will not be used towards operational or administrative expenses for the Chicago Council.

SVdP Chicago has been reaching out in our local communities throughout Cook and Lake counties for over 168 years. We have the experience of being a force of good throughout times of war, global pandemics, economic crises, and social changes. Our volunteers serve with hearts full of love and compassion and the Society helps anyone regardless of race, religion, political association, or gender.

• We’ve fed countless in need in Chicago and the suburban communities through our food pantries, holiday meal baskets, community dinners, and other local events.
• We’ve clothed the homeless, struggling young families, and Veterans trying to make it during rough patches in their lives.
• We’ve housed those on the brink or in the midst of homelessness through referrals to shelters, locating affordable housing, or paying rent during a short-term set-back. And we’ve continually offered hope to the most vulnerable in our communities when they’ve no place else to turn.

With your support and generous donation, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago and our dedicated volunteer members can take action against poverty, and together we will continue making a difference in our local communities!

Donate today, click here to be directed to our secure, online give partner Network for Good.

We have some amazingly good news to share today! SVdP Chicago is proud to congratulate our Council Vice President, Mike Syslo, on being named the Chairperson of the National Governance Committee! This role is a reflection of the effort and commitment Mike has given to The Society and we wish him great success as he begins this new chapter in his Vincentian journey.  Never fear, he will still remain our Vice President and we are most grateful for that. God bless you Mike for your good works and service!

SVdP Chicago is hosting a New and Improved Ozanam Orientation on March 22, 23, and 24, 2021. It is a 3-part webinar series that will begin at 6:30 pm each evening. End times: 3/22- 8:45 pm, 3/23- 8:50 pm, 3/24-8:10 pm

In order to get credit for attending this required program, you must attend all three parts. You may attend one or two of the parts now and pick up the rest at a later date. This is a virtual interactive presentation rather than in-person training and requires your attendance through the use of a computer, iPad, Smartphone, or like device. To participate, you cannot attend simply by telephone (landline) because you must see the presentation as well as hear it. Additional Information will be sent when you register.

Who should attend?
– New members – to learn who we are, what we are about, and how you can help to transform our culture.
– Existing members – to get reacquainted with how you can help to transform our culture.

What Will Be Discussed?
– As a Member, Do You Know Your Title?
– What is Our History?
– What is Vincentian Spirituality?
– What are SVdP’s Cultural Beliefs?
– What are SVdP’s Key Results?
– What is SVdP Culture?
– How You Can Help Transform SVdP?
– Do You Understand Poverty?
– Why do we make Home Visits?

Register Today! Email Mike Syslo at mike.syslo@outlook.com with your Name, Conference, District, Phone, Home Address, and Email Address. Additional information will be sent to you via email after you register.

We LOVE this idea! It’s the 40 Days, 40 Items Challenge. Here’s the deal:  Instead of giving up something for Lent – the 40 days and 40 items challenge is a way of giving back. Each day of Lent, remove one item from your home, which you don’t use or wear anymore, and place it in a bag.  It can be clothing items, shoes, boots, accessories, household items, small kitchen appliances, kitchen utensils, cups/plates/bowls, blankets, sheets, electronics, furniture, toys, and more!
Our Thrift Stores are NOT able to accept Mattresses, Organs, and Pianos. 

At the end of Lent, donate these items to SVdP Libertyville or Orland Park Thrift Stores.
Click here for store hours and contact information. 
Did you fill more than 1 bag? We have all heard if something doesn’t bring you Joy or get used after 1 year of owning it to donate.  Now is your chance to organize, declutter, and give back to help others.
Your donations will be shared with our Friends in Need!
Are you up for the Challenge?  Start Today!

We asked for your help to help those displaced and needing clothing after a motel fire in Melrose Park.  Your response blew us away! We are incredibly grateful to everyone who came out in cold, snowy conditions to donate.  

On hand was Melissa, with Leyden Township, Jim P. – SVdP Chicago Disaster Coordinator, Dennis – our SVdP Driver, and Harry O. (not pictured because he was taking all the photos!) –  SVdP President

Dennis, Jim, and Melissa On-Site to Accept Donations

All donations were processed and sorted by our Libertyville Thrift Store Staff and Volunteers and made ready for distribution to the 47 adults and 2 children in need.

Your donations are very much appreciated, thank you for answering the call and helping our neighbors in need!