How to give.

Your financial donation can help Vincentians provide assistance to the poor and needy in south Mississippi. By doing so, you can help a neighbor family that is experiencing trouble, to receive food or to get help to pay electricity or heating bills and not have these services shut off. SVDP's help with rent payments can keep a family from becoming homeless.

Together, we can make a difference for them. By the combination of your donations and our work, together we can partner to share our resources with the men, women, and children in our community who look to us for help. Your donation

To respect the wishes of those who donate to us, we do our best to verify the legitimacy of our clients' claims of need before providing any assistance.

Reasons to Donate

  • Donating alms to help the poor has been a Christian custom since Apostolic times.
  • By your donations, you help Vincentians help those in need. Your donations are the only way that many of the poor will receive any help.
  • Many people wish to follow this custom of almsgiving and will send regular donations to the Society such as making monthly, quarterly, or annual gifts to help the poor.
  • Others will give a donation to SVDP at Thanksgiving or Christmas time in thanksgiving to God for the blessings they have received throughout the year.
  • Many will make a donation to SVDP in thanksgiving for a special or fortunate event in their lives. 
  • Families often request that bereavement memorials be made to SVDP in memory of a loved one who has died.

 Ways to Donate

Financial Donations

  • Online
  • We use PayPal which is one of the leading web-based financial transaction companies. They are best known for their association with eBay.
  • Payments go directly to us via PayPal, but we do not see your confidential credit card information. Click Here to Donate Now.
  • Poor Box
  • If your parish has a St. Vincent de Paul Conference, they may have a SVDP poor box in the rear of your church
  • Collections at Church
  • Many SVDP conferences take up Fifth Sunday collections after all Masses at the church on that weekend. Fifth Sundays occur four times a year. Vincentians will be standing at the doors of the church ready to accept whatever donations you care to make. Many who wish to support the work of the Society plan their yearly contribution by donating to these quarterly collections.
  • By Mail
  • You may mail a your donation to the Society, either the Archdiocesan Council or your local parish conference. Checks may be mailed to the SVDP Diocesan Council of Mobile office at Society of St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 4098, Biloxi, MS 39531 or to your local Conference via your parish. Please make checks payable to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul. If sending to your parish, please clearly mark your envelope as being for The Society of St. Vincent de Paul to avoid getting confused with other parish envelopes.
  • Bequests as part of your estate
  • You can name St. Vincent de Paul as a beneficiary in your estate. Many wish to leave a part of their estate in order to continue helping the poor and needy after they die.
  • You can arrange a contribution to St. Vincent de Paul through a living trust by naming the St. Vincent de Paul Diocesan Council of Biloxi as the ultimate beneficiary. This method of giving is attractive because you retain complete control of the assets during your lifetime. You can designate the purpose of your gift or allow it to become part of our monetary reserves, helping to insure our continuing work for Mobile County's needy people. Your attorney can help you with all your estate planning needs.

Food Donations  

  • Many parishes and schools conduct regular food collections for the SVDP food pantry. Many parishes will have a food box in the rear of the church to accept your donations of food items.

Antiques & large appliances

  • Antiques can be sold by SVDP and the revenue generated pays for food, housing, heating, medicines, etc. for the needy.
  • Large appliances are given directly to the poor. There is a huge need for these items.

Prayers

  • Please pray for our clients, and for our success in helping them.

Call Us Today!

  • We are more than happy to make time to discuss your generous donation. Please call 228-388-1837 and a Vincentian will be more than happy to talk with you.

We appreciate your generosity in helping us help others.

For more information of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, visit our national website www.svdpusa.org

History of the society

The Society was founded in Paris over 175 years ago in 1833, by a young French nobleman, Bl. Frederic Ozanam, to confront his city's devastating poverty. Inspired by his love of St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century French priest who had an untiring commitment to serving the poor, Ozanam's mission was clear - help the needy on a one-to-one basis and "accomplish through charity what justice alone cannot do."

Challenged by Saint-Simonians at the University of Paris to practice what he preached, Ozanam and some other like-minded students formed the Conference of Charity and held the charter meeting in May of that year. Starting with less than eight members, the conference membership soared to more than one hundred in 1834. It was Ozanam who believed that the original conferences must divide into more units in order to service better the needy. By 1835, the society had its own official rule and a new official name: The Society of Saint Vincent DePaul.
The Society took Saint Vincent de Paul as its patron under the influence of Sister Rosalie Rendu, DC (Daughter of Charity). Sister Rosalie (who was beatified in 2004 by Pope John Paul II) was a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, a group of religious women who take vows to serve the poor and those in need, founded by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac in 1633. Sister Rosalie, who was well known for her work with the most poverty stricken people in the slums of Paris, guided Blessed Frédéric and his companions in their approach towards those in need.
The Society grew rapidly from the start. There were already over 2000 members when Frederic Ozanam died in 1853. Bl. Frederic was beatified in 1996.

The Society in Biloxi

The Society has beeen a part of Biloxi for over a hundred years as the first Conference was established in the 1890s. For the past 110 years, Vincentians have been serving the needy throughout the area of the Diocese of Biloxi by way of many SVDP conferences.

Mission & Vision

Mission

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Diocesan Council of Biloxi, MS, is part of a worldwide organization of lay Catholic men and women who are committed to live and grow in their Christian faith through prayer and personal involvement in charitable works. The Society’s mission is accomplished through parish and community-based groups called Conferences (volunteers) and programs called “Special Works.” The Society’s work includes any actions that promote the dignity of the person, alleviate suffering and distress, while correcting the conditions that cause them.

Vision

“No Act of Charity is Foreign to the Society.”

Annual Report

These SVDP annual reports provide an insight at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul work.

2006-07 Diocesan Council Annual Report (.pdf file)

Useful Links

Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Diocesan Council of Biloxi / P.O. Box 4098 / Biloxi, MS 39531

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