|
June 6, 2008 – Forest Hills Journal/Communitypress.com - BURRIDGE AWARDED FOR YEARS OF SERVICE The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Council of Cincinnati recently honored volunteers and members who exemplify a spirit of kindness and humility in their service to others at its Annual Fellowship Banquet. Rev. Jim Bok celebrated the Mass at St. Joseph Church. Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. was the guest speaker. Each year SVDP, an organization that's more than 700 volunteers strong, recognizes outstanding work in the Cincinnati community with awards in several categories: Top Hat Award, honoring a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer; the Ozanam Award, honoring a volunteer who is not a member of St. Vincent de Paul but exemplifies the spirit of compassion; and the Fire of Faith Award, which honors a volunteer for his or her spiritual leadership. Service awards are also bestowed for length of service. Four SVDP volunteers received length of service awards, totaling nearly 200 years of service. They are Dick Deidesheimer of St. Margaret Mary and a resident of North College Hill; Paul Wesseler and Ed Saur from St. James in Wyoming and Charles Burridge of Guardian Angel Church and a resident of Mount Washington. June 6, 2008 – Eastern Hills Journal/Communitypress.com - STAYTON AWARDED OZANAM AWARD The Society of St. Vincent de Paul(SVDP) Council of Cincinnati recently honored volunteers and members who exemplify the spirit of kindness and humility in their service to others at its Annual Fellowship Banquet. Rev. Jim Bok celebrated the Mass at St. Joseph Church. Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. was the guest speaker. Each year SVDP, an organization that's more than 700 volunteers strong, recognizes outstanding work in the Cincinnati community with awards in several categories: Top Hat Award, honoring a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer; the Ozanam Award, honoring a volunteer who is not a member of St. Vincent de Paul but exemplifies the spirit of compassion; and the Fire of Faith Award, which honors a volunteer for his or her spiritual leadership. Service awards are also bestowed for length of service. Juanita Stayton of Pleasant Ridge was awarded this year's Ozanam Award for her many years of service in the Pleasant Ridge and Kennedy Heights communities. For the last 25 years Stayton has worked at the Caring Place helping those in need of clothing and food. She is a frequent visitor at nursing homes playing bingo and providing refreshments. May 30, 2008 – Communitypress.com / Charity to collect donations in Deer Park The Society of St. Vincent de Paul will conduct a "Clean Out and Donate" weekend Saturday, June 28, and Sunday, June 29, at St. John the Evangelist in Deer Park to collect donations for its local thrift stores. A Society of St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store truck will be at the church both days to collect donations and a representative of the organization will attend the truck before and after Sunday church services. Donations of gently used furniture, clothing, shoes, handbags, home décor, toys and household items are needed to stock the new Mason Thrift Store and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's five other area thrift stores. Proceeds from sales at Society of St. Vincent de Paul's local thrift stores support the organization's mission of local neighbors helping neighbors. Staff and volunteers visit people throughout Greater Cincinnati and often see people in the most dire circumstances - parents needing a crib for a newborn baby, families who have lost everything they own to a fire or foreclosure or children needing school clothes or coats to stay warm. For all St. Vincent de Paul thrift store locations & hours, visit www.svdpcincinnati.org. All six thrift stores offer convenient donation drop-boxes; accept drop-off donations during store hours of operation, or pick-ups can be scheduled by calling 513-421-2273. Tax receipts will be provided for donated items. May 22, 2008 – Cincinnati Enquirer / Reds, St. Vincent de Paul team up for event The Cincinnati Reds and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are partnering to host a food drive Tuesday through June 1 during the Reds vs. Pirates and Reds vs. Braves series at Great American Ball Park. Anyone donating a nonperishable food item will receive a ticket voucher for one ticket, when one ticket Is purchased, to the June 18 Reds vs. Dodgers game. In addition, each fan donating to the food drive can enter a drawing to throw out the first pitch at the June 18 game. Food collection barrels and St. Vincent de Paul volunteers will be stationed at all ballpark gates before each game. One ticket voucher will be issued per person, per day regardless of the number of items donated. The food drive goal is to collect 10,000 pounds of food, which will feed 3,500 people in our community for one day. May 21, 2008 – Communitypress.com / SVDP OPENS IN MASON Official grand opening festivities are planned for Memorial Day weekend, and include complimentary refreshments and family entertainment plus an additional 20 percent off everything in the store. Proceeds from sales at the new location, as well as from SVDP's five other local thrift stores, support the organization's mission of local neighbors helping neighbors. The store is located in Mason Town Plaza near Tuesday Morning and Harbor Freight and features ample parking and a large selection of apparel and household items. Merchandise selection changes daily. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. St. Vincent de Paul accepts donations of gently used clothing, household items, furniture and cars. All locations offer donation drop-boxes and accept drop-off donations during business hours, or pick-ups can be scheduled by calling 421-2273. Tax receipts are provided for donated items.May 15, 2008 – Cincy Not-for-Profit News / News May 8, 2008 – Cincy Not-for-Profit News / News April 11, 2008 – Business Courier / Helping Out March 7, 2008 – Catholic Telegraph / St. Vincent de Paul work inspires Catholic school students The Bank Street headquarters of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) of Greater Cincinnati was the scene for an educational and inspirational social action retreat for high school students on Feb. 22 and 23. According to Gary Horton of SVDP, 26 students from schools including St. Ursula, St. Xavier, Moeller, McNicholas and LaSalle took part in the event, which was designed to introduce them to the agency’s ministry and expose them to the issue of poverty throughout the city. The retreat began with the opportunity for the young people, who were divided into three groups, to visit several area homeless shelters — the City Gospel Mission, Salvation Army and Drop-Inn Center — where they served dinner and met with the clients. They then returned to Bank Street to reflect on their experiences and hear a presentation about St. Vincent de Paul himself and the work of the society. The next day provided the students with the chance to accompany adult volunteers from SVDP on their home visits. During these visits, which emphasize person-to-person contact, the volunteers complete a need assessment and provide emergency assistance, such as food, clothing and help with utility bills, as required. Upon returning to SVDP headquarters, the students again shared their experiences. They expressed what they had learned by creating posters with the help of Steve Sunderland, a professor in education and peace studies at the University of Cincinnati, whose Posters 4 Peace Project helps people draw out their feelings. The students then presented their posters and they were hung on the wall during a Mass, which concluded the retreat. Horton believes the young people benefited from the experience in a variety of ways. "They discovered that poverty doesn’t just exist in certain areas of the city," he said. "I think they also realized that even if people don’t have a lot, they’re not necessarily downtrodden. They’re positive and grateful to have family and a roof over their heads. The students also realized that it doesn’t take a major program to make a difference. Each of us has the ability to impact another person’s life." February 7, 2008 - WKRC-Local 12 News / Tax Value of Charity Donations If you're working on your taxes you may be wondering about the value of some of those things you donated to charity. If you use tax software some programs suggest a value for old clothes or furniture. Local 12's Paula Toti puts those numbers to the test. Would you pay $21 for an old jogging suit? I was looking at some Turbo Tax software that placed the value at $21 on the high side and $13 on the low side. A fair market value sheet put out by Goodwill has a woman's suit selling for $25. As far as the IRS is concerned the value is what it would sell for in a thrift store. So we went shopping at one of several stores run by the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul. We found formals and wedding dresses selling for about $13. Turbo Tax gives a range on a bridesmaid dress of $22 on the high side and $13 on the low end. Most adult clothes and even a rack of jeans we found selling for $3.99. "So your old Calvin Kleins you can't write off 50 dollars." Turbo Tax does have a pretty high value on jeans .. $12 to $8 and even this guideline put out by Goodwill Industries values jeans at $6.99. I did find one pair at that price at St. Vincent De Paul where they tell people the IRS just wants taxpayers to be reasonable. "You know if it's a really nice item of clothing you wore once, you may value it higher than something that was your favorite pair of blue jeans." And the IRS is pickier this year with what it allows in clothing. It has to be in good condition something someone really would wear. So no holes. This year the IRS also requires a receipt for all deductions. Most charities just give you a receipt that shows you gave something ... it's up to you to place the value. "Where that changes is at the $500 level. So if you donate a single item, like a nice piece of furniture, then you're going to need an appraisal." CPA'S say you're safe when keeping deductions under $500. In fact many use the guide list put out by Goodwill. so while Turbo Tax may be aggressive by calling a used halter top a $14 value ... it's not likely to get you an audit. Some CPA's have even told me .. a whole bag stuffed with clothes you might value at $25. And to give you an idea of the thrift prices I saw an old sofa $85 .. and chairs about $15. The folks at St Vincent De Paul say the items needed most include furniture, basic household items like pots and pans, and nice clothes people could wear to work.January 18, 2008 - Cincinnati Enquirer / They're here to help, St. Vincent de Paul's Winton Hills office does basic charity, looks beyond to bootstrap aid (by Peggy O’Farrell) A day-care center would be nice, the women agreed, and that would make it easier for parents to get to work or attend school. Some classes would be helpful, and give young parents a chance to learn budgeting, cooking meals and keeping a home clean. And a youth center, someplace kids could hang out after school "instead of the corner," Crawford said, would be ideal. Those are the kinds of ideas the staff at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul want to hear. The agency, which helps poor families with a food pantry, emergency assistance and job training, has opened a satellite office in the subsidized apartment complex to help families there and in the surrounding Winton Hills area. Executive Director Liz Carter said it is a new direction for the West End agency. Most of the clients the agency serves from its Bank Street headquarters or through affiliated parishes need short-term help, Carter said: Money to pay the heat bill for a month or two, a week's worth of groceries, just something to tide them over until they get a new job or benefits kick in. "That's what we do. That's what we're good at," Carter said. "That's what we know about and the people in Winton Terrace need it." Some families in Winton Terrace and the neighboring apartment complexes of Silver Oaks and Findlater Gardens need longer-term help. "The people we normally see have some foundation, a job, insurance, something, and they've just hit a rough patch," Carter said. "Some of the people we'll be working with in Winton Hills don't necessarily have that dimension." Since September, St. Vincent de Paul has operated in Winton Terrace out of the old Terrace Guild office in the complex's community building. The Terrace Guild closed in September when it ran out of money. With the Terrace Guild gone, someone had to step in and help the 3,000 or so poor families in the area, Carter said. For the last few months, LaMonica Sherman has run the satellite office, helping people pay bills, handing out bus tokens for doctor visits and job interviews and praying with families when they need hope as much, or maybe more, than food money or rent. "It's not just people who are laying back and not trying to do anything with their lives here," Sherman said. "You've got people who are going to school and working and doing what they need to do. You've got grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren. You've got people who are working and living paycheck to paycheck." Sherman, office receptionist Rochelle Wood and volunteer Bob Mierenfeld have set up a monthly bus trip so families in Winton Terrace and the surrounding neighborhood can visit St. Vincent de Paul's food pantry on Bank Street. They've worked with Cincinnati Public Schools to keep a GED program open in Winton Terrace - a top priority when the agency moved into the complex. On Feb. 21, St. Vincent de Paul staff will hold an open house in the Winton Terrace office so anyone in Winton Hills can advise them on what kind of long-term services are needed to help make the neighborhood a better, safer place. They'll also set up advisory committees of apartment residents to guide long-term support services. Possibilities include job training, addiction counseling and programs geared specifically toward helping women become financially independent, Carter said. "We really don't know what it's going to look like in the end," she said. The agency may team up with other social service organizations to offer programs, she said. Smiley, who moved to Winton Terrace in September, and Tolliver, a five-year resident, are both enrolled in the GED program. Smiley, who has two young sons, wants to become a massage therapist after she earns her GED. "I don't drive," she said. "If I had to go to school somewhere else, it would really be a struggle." Crawford, who is raising two of her grandchildren, hands out literature about St. Vincent de Paul's services to families as they move into Winton Terrace. December 21, 2007 - Business Courier / Bengals shop with kids as part of Adopt-A-Family Bengals players, including kicker Shayne Graham took kids like DeMarrio Howard, Layona Schueler and Deonjelo Howard on a holiday shopping spree as part of the St. Vincent de Paul Adopt-A-Family program. December 2007 - WLWT.com / Thanks For Helping The 5 Cares Coat Drive! The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and WLWT Channel 5 conducted the 7th annual 5 Cares Coat Drive Monday, Oct. 22 through Dec. 7, presented by Cintas Corporation. Greater Cincinnati residents were asked to donate new or gently-used coats by taking them to participating fire departments, select TriHealth locations, participating Gold Star Chili and Northern Kentucky Domino’s Pizza locations –- with the goal of collecting a total of 4,000 coats. 5,890 coats were donated this year! St. Vincent de Paul distributed the coats to those in need locally throughout the fall. With the support of the coat drive’s newest partner, Metro, a public transit service of Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), warming stations were available at the coat giveaways. For the sixth year, Cintas donated 1,000 new coats valued at more than $45,000 to jump-start the collection. City Dash will support the effort by providing pick-up and delivery service. "With the generous support of residents and our corporate partners, we hope to collect more than 4,000 coats to help our neighbors in need stay warm this winter," said Liz Carter, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul. In 2006, 4,386 coats were donated by the community to the 5 Cares Coat Drive -- many of them brand new. As in past years, St. Vincent de Paul will supply coats to its own clients, as well as to other agencies that also work directly with those in need. There continues to be a greater need for children's coats. “WLWT helped to create this annual coat drive with St. Vincent de Paul and continues to support the organization in any way possible. Serving people in need right here in our own community is a value our entire station rallies behind,” said Richard Dyer, general manager of WLWT Channel 5. This project is made possible by the firefighters and others who collect the coats, volunteers who transport, sort and distribute the coats, and of course, the generosity of area residents. Participating fire departments include Anderson, Colerain, Deerfield, Green, Whitewater and Springfield Townships, Harrison, Hamilton, Forest Park, Milford, Blue Ash, Montgomery, Sharonville, Springdale, Fairfax-Madison Place, Loveland, Mariemont, Mt. Healthy, Mason and Little Miami. In Northern Kentucky, the Florence, Hebron, Alexandria, Newport, Ft. Thomas and Covington Fire Departments will accept donated coats. Northern Kentucky Domino’s Pizza locations and participating Gold Star Chili locations will also have barrels to collect coats. For more information about donating or helping with the drive, please call St. Vincent de Paul at 513-562-8841, ext. #26, or to learn how to receive a coat, call 421-0602. Visit St. Vincent de Paul online at www.svdpcincinnati.org.November 30, 2007 - The New York Times & Nytimes.com / Food Banks, in a Squeeze, Tighten Belts Food banks around the country are reporting critical shortages that have forced them to ration supplies, distribute staples usually reserved for disaster relief and in some instances close. “It’s one of the most demanding years I’ve seen in my 30 years” in the field, said Catherine D’Amato, president and chief executive of the Greater Boston Food Bank, comparing the situation to the recession of the late 1970s. Experts attributed the shortages to an unusual combination of factors, including rising demand, a sharp drop in federal supplies of excess farm products, and tighter inventory controls that are leaving supermarkets and other retailers with less food to donate. “We don’t have nearly what people need, and that’s all there is to it,” said Greg Bryant, director of the food pantry in Sheffield, Vt. “We’re one step from running out,” Mr. Bryant said. “It kind of spirals,” he added. “The people that normally donate to us have less, the retailers are selling to discount stores because people are shopping in those places, and now we have less food and more people. It’s a double, triple, hit.” The Vermont Food Bank said its supply of food was down 50 percent from last year. “It’s a crisis mode,” said Doug O’Brien, the bank’s chief executive. For two weeks this month, the New Hampshire Food Bank distributed supplies reserved for emergency relief. Demand for food here is up 40 percent over last year and supply is down 30 percent, which is striking in the state with the lowest reliance on food banks. “It’s the price of oil, gas, rents and foreclosures,” said Melanie Gosselin, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank. Ms. Gosselin said household budget squeezes had led to a drop in donations and greater demand. “This is not the old ‘only the homeless are hungry,’” she said. “It’s working people.” Lane Kenworthy, a professor of sociology and political science at the University of Arizona, agreed, saying: “The overall picture is that household incomes are kind of stuck. There’s very little way to increase income, and most people have a very heavy debt load. Any event that increases your costs is really, really troublesome, because you’re already stretched thin.” The food bank in Manchester delivers provisions to a housing project each week, and on a recent Monday, Matthew Whooley, 26, of Manchester, was waiting in line with his wife, Penny, and their four children. “Every week there’s less and less food,” Mr. Whooley said. “It used to be potatoes, meat and bread, and last week we got Doritos and flour. The food is getting shorter, and the lines keep getting longer.” In part, food banks are suffering because farmers are doing well. The food banks rely on supplies from the federal Agriculture Department’s Bonus Commodity Program, which buys surplus crops like apples and potatoes from farmers. “Right now, the agricultural economy is very strong and the surpluses aren’t available for us to purchase,” said Jean Daniel, a department spokeswoman. “Certainly we’re empathetic, but unfortunately we cannot count on those bonus commodities every year.” Supplies from the surplus program dropped to $67 million worth last year, from $154.3 million in 2005 and $233 million in 2004. Figures for this year are not available, Ms. Daniel said. Food bank operators are lobbying for passage of a farm bill currently stalled in the Senate that would raise emergency aid for food banks to $250 million a year, from $140 million. That figure has remained steady since 2002. Susannah Morgan, executive director of the Food Bank of Alaska said, “The biggest problem is that the federal government’s programs are dropping as need is growing.” Ms. Morgan said the decline has affected rural Alaska, where native tribes run most food pantries. She said about 10 percent of the state’s rural food banks have closed because there is not enough federal help coming in. “They don’t feel staffing and heating is worth it for the small amount of food,” Ms. Morgan said. Further complicating the picture, Ms. Morgan and others said, is tighter inventory monitoring, which has left many stores with less to donate. “They know exactly what they have, down to the can,” said Darren Hoffman, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, whose supplies are down 11 percent this year. “They can track a lot better and don’t order in bulk. Efficiency has kind of been the enemy of the food bank.” Extra food — items that are not selling or seasonal inventory that is no longer needed — is now often sold to low-cost retailers, said Tim Viall, executive director of the Greater Stockton Food Bank in Stockton, Calif. “We’re getting fewer canned goods than last year from retail grocers, because they’re selling it to warehouse food stores,” Mr. Viall said. “We’re putting more reliance on canned food drives, and we’re trying to ramp up the fresh fruit and produce. We are in the heart of one of the most productive agriculture areas in the world, and we’re trying to take advantage.” In places where community donations are down and there are no food manufacturers to solicit, pantries and food banks are making difficult choices. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Cincinnati is giving families less food this year because there is not enough. It has started to ask smaller families to take fewer products. “Donations are down, and people who need help is up,” said Liz Carter, executive director of the food bank. “So what are we going to do. We just made the decision that instead of giving people six or seven days worth of food, we’re going to give them three or four days of food, which is a drop in the bucket.” Ginny Hildebrand, executive director of the Association of Arizona Food Banks, said many pantries were facing similar situations. At a recent conference for food bank employees, Ms. Hildebrand said, “Everybody was saying the same thing. They’re all hit by an increase in demand, all hit by the impact of the higher costs of food, and all hit by federal reductions. We just don’t have the quantity of products available that we used to.” Ross Fraser, a spokesman for America’s Second Harvest, which distributes more than two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually, said the shortages at food banks were the worst the organization had seen in 26 years. “Suddenly it’s on everyone’s radar,” Mr. Fraser said. “Food banks are calling us and saying, ‘My God, we have to get food.’”November 28, 2007 - Downtowner Pulse / St. Vincent de Paul and Longworth Hall partner for food drive This football season, St. Vincent de Paul and Longworth Hall are teaming up to collect food for those in need. Prior to all remaining Bengals Sunday home games, St. Vincent de Paul volunteers will collect food and cash donations at Longworth Hall, 700 W. Pete Rose Way – the site of one of the largest tailgating parties in Cincinnati. Collections of non-perishable foods – preferably canned goods - and cash donations will begin on game days from 9 a.m. to noon, Dec. 9 and 23. Donation barrels will also be located along the Pete Rose Way entrance to Longworth Hall for those who would like to drop off an item. All collected donations will help keep St. Vincent de Paul’s Food Pantry stocked during its busiest time of year. Providing groceries to more than 500 Cincinnati families every month, the Bank Street Food Pantry is located off I-75 in the west end. For more information about St. Vincent de Paul or the upcoming food drive, contact St. Vincent de Paul at (513) 562-8841 ext. 225, or visit www.svdpcincinnati.org. For information regarding tailgating or directions to Longworth Hall, call (513) 721-6000.November 15, 2007 - Cincinnati Enquirer / Food pantries dealing with HARD TIMES, Area’s relief agencies cutting back to stretch supplies (by Peggy O’Farrell) Denise Arnold lost her job in July. Her family helped her as long as it could, but this week, the Roselawn woman found herself at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry, walking aisle by aisle with volunteer Bob Barry to pick up enough canned vegetables, pasta, bread and cereal to get her through the next few weeks. She’s looking for another job. She’s applied for food stamps and other help, but that’s been slow in coming. Since she’s lost her job, Arnold has fallen behind on her rent, and she worries she and her disabled son might end up homeless. “It’s really been rough,” she said. “I’ve been so scared.” At St. Vincent de Paul, the FreestoreFoodbank, Northern Kentucky’s Brighton Center and other agencies, workers are hearing more stories like Arnold’s. Demand for help is up so much that FreestoreFoodbank and St. Vincent de Paul cut back the amount of food they send home with people so they can stretch their supplies. “Right now, we’re giving clients three or four days’ worth of food, where before we gave them six or seven days’ worth,” said Liz Carter, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Greater Cincinnati. “It’s horrible.” From June through September, 6,604 people went to St. Vincent de Paul’s West End food pantry for help – an 18 percent increase from the same period n 2006, Carter said. At the same time, donations dropped about 30 percent in the last year or so. Job losses, coupled with higher costs for food, fuel and utilities, push some families over the edge, Carter said. “Maybe a year or so ago they could make it,” she said. “But these families live paycheck to paycheck, and the paycheck just won’t stretch. It’s like trying to cover up with a blanket that’s too small.” At FreestoreFoodbank, clients are going home with six days’ worth of food, as opposed to a seven-day supply two years ago, president and CEO John Young said. Across the Ohio River in Kentucky, 159 new families came to Brighton Center’s Family Center food pantry in Newport last month seeking help, said Denise Govan, director of the Family Center. “These aren’t your typical family of four with an income of $17,000,” Govan said. “These are more, family of four with an income of $30,000.” Two things are sending more families to seek emergency food assistance, Govan said: “The economy and a crisis.” “You have families that are making ends meet, stretching their dollars, and then one of the breadwinners gets sick or loses a job and they’re in a crisis,” she said. Last year, Young said his Over-the-Rhine food pantry distributed 10 million pounds of food in the 20-county region it serves – a 10 percent increase from 2005, he said. While donations were up 10 percent, demand for food increased 50 percent. “So we’re not keeping up with demand,” he said. The picture is not much rosier on a national level. In 2006, more than 35 million Americans went hungry, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, compared to 35.1 million in 2005. The report cited data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Census Bureau on people who reported they did not have enough money or resources to get food at some point last year. FreestoreFoodbank kicked off its “Hunger is Unacceptable” fundraising drive Wednesday, with a goal to raise $1.4 million by the end of January. The Kroger Co. jump-started the drive with a $100,000 donation. “We’re asking the community to help people who are your neighbors, our neighbors, your family, our family, your friends, our friends, to have the basic necessities, the basic sustenance of food,” Young said. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, FreestoreFoodbank will distribute 500,000 pounds of food to provide holiday meals to more than 16,000 families, or some 37,500 individuals. Half of those individuals are children, Young said. Also on Wednesday, social-service agencies in Northern Kentucky met to discuss how to pool resources and streamline aid, Govan said. The newly formed Safety Net Alliance is working to identify and fill gaps in services, including food assistance, she said. One issue identified: none of Northern Kentucky’s food pantries is open Saturdays. “Crises happen on Saturday, too,” she said. November 8, 2007 - Catholic Telegraph / St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy grows in first year, Innovative program serves as state model to fill health care services In the first full year of operation, the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy has cared for 467 people and dispensed a total of 4,521 prescriptions with a retail value of approximately $381,500. Prescription volume is increasing steadily with approximately 20 percent growth each month since the pharmacy opened. Three years in the making, the SVDP Charitable Pharmacy, in partnership with Leadership Cincinnati and the Academy of Medicine, is the only pharmacy in southwest Ohio dedicated to providing completely free medication and professional pharmaceutical care to people in need from Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties. Those helped by the SVDP Charitable Pharmacy primarily include the working poor who cannot afford prescription insurance, those who have lost their jobs and those with Medicare coverage who have reached a gap in their coverage or have so many prescriptions they cannot afford pharmacy co-pays. Others need temporary assistance as they try to secure coverage or qualify for other assistance programs. Reaching a wide cross-section of those who are uninsured or underinsured, most referrals come from local clinics, private physicians, transitional housing, homeless shelters and hospital emergency rooms. Pharmacy staff members work to assess each individual’s need for a "medical home" to receive follow-up and preventive care. The pharmacy drug list has grown substantially since opening, allowing the pharmacy to fill more than 90 percent of prescriptions presented. Eight physician practices are currently donating pharmaceutical samples, which are being used to fill one-third of the prescriptions. Skilled Care and Keysource Medical donate generic drugs, which are being used to fill approximately half of all prescriptions. Limited purchase of wholesale and generic medications is helping to complete the formulary. In addition, students from the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy are rotating through the Charitable Pharmacy for program credit, while pharmacy alumni, students and even professors are volunteering. "We could not be this successful without the generosity of our partners, volunteers and donating physicians; however, we need more physician groups and other pharmacy resources involved to continue to serve this population," said Liz Carter, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul. "The Order of Malta provided significant financial support to get the pharmacy open, but as more people struggle to afford prescription medication, the support of the broader community is essential," she added. Serving as a model for the creation of the SVDP Charitable Pharmacy in Cincinnati, the SVDP Community Pharmacy in Northern Kentucky has been operating for five years and has served 2,300 patients, dispensing more than 123,000 prescriptions with a retail value of more than $7.7 million. Both pharmacies in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are part of a growing national trend with other SVDP pharmacies operating in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. The Charitable Pharmacy is currently accepting financial donations and donations of sample medication from physician offices. For more information or to get involved, contact Mike Espel at the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy, 513-562-8841, ext. 264. October 2007 - Cincinnati Enquirer / Donate it: Help the needy From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, Give Back Cincinnati members will be collecting nonperishable food and clothing for St. Vincent de Paul services at Fountain Square, downtown, and Kroger stores in Western Hills, Queen City, and Hyde Park. At Vine and Fifth streets, downtown, members will unload donations from cars. www.givebackcincinnati.org October 28, 2007 - Cincinnati Enquirer / RetroFittings, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul RetroFittings, a fashion show fundraiser featuring creations by University of Cincinnati fashion design students from items found at St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores, took place at the 20th Century in Oakley. The fifth annual event featured students showing off their designs created on a $10 budget, as well as raffles of fashion-related merchandise, music and food. Contributions from the capacity crowd of 450 raised $25,000 (50 percent more than last year) for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which helps Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky residents in need through home visits provided by neighborhood-based volunteer groups and initiatives such as the Charitable Pharmacy. October 2007 - Fox 19.com / "Food from the Heart 2007" This year, meteorologists Frank Marzullo and Christie Dutton will serve as co-chairs of the "Food from the Heart" campaign, an ongoing partnership between Kroger, St. Vincent de Paul, and FOX19. In 2006, an amazing 70,000 lbs. of food was collected for needy families in the area. With your help, we hope to exceed last year and garner 75,000 lbs. in 2007!!! Stay tuned to FOX19 as we will give you weekly reports of the food collected to date. The 2007 "Food from the Heart" campaign runs from November 12 through December 31. You can help by donating canned or dry goods in the specially marked bins at all Greater Cincinnati Kroger stores. The items collected will be distributed to individuals in need throughout the holiday season. Almost one in every five families in the greater Cincinnati area regularly went without food in 2006. It's simple to donate: Most of the donated food is distributed in the neighborhoods where it is collected. Excess donations will be distributed through St. Vincent de Paul's new Choice Pantry at the newly renovated Bank Street headquarters. The Choice Pantry emphasizes good nutrition and builds community while allowing clients in the West End and Camp Washington areas to select the items they most need for their families. The Choice Pantry, is expected to feed over 18,000 people annually. Your donations do make a difference. Kroger, St. Vincent de Paul and FOX19 hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and thank you for your support. FOOD COLLECTED TO DATE: 200.5 BARRELS = 70,147 Pounds September 28, 2007 - Cincinnati Enquirer / Reds fans give to food drive A one-day food drive by the Cincinnati Reds and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul on Sept. 7 generated more than 2,500 pounds of food, enough to feed about 500 people for a day. The event took place at Great American Ball Park. More than 300 fans donated. September 14, 2007 - Catholic Telegraph / Furniture and Mattress Drive July 11, 2007 Downtowner / Pizzeria supports fan drive Papa John’s Pizza will donate $1 to the St. Vincent de Paul Fan Drive for every pizza sold on Thursday, July 12, to help those in need stay cool this summer. Papa John’s has raised more than $10,000 over the last two years for the annual fan drive. In addition, Papa John’s is collecting fans at participating store locations through July 12. Greater Cincinnati residents also help local families in need by donating a fan or new window air conditioner now through August 12, at any of the 11 St. Vincent de Paul thrift stores in Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky. For SVDP thrift store locations in Hamilton County, more information about the SVDP Fan Drive, or other ways to donate, contact St. Vincent de Paul at (513) 562-8841 or go to: www.svdpcincinnati.org/what_we_do/thrift_locations.html. For SVDP thrift store locations in Northern Kentucky, contact the District Council of Covington at (859) 341-3212. Monetary donations can be made at all Huntington Bank branch locations in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area through August 12. The donated fans and air conditioners will be distributed through St. Vincent de Paul’s neighborhood parish organizations, the West End location and other outlets.
|
