Sacred Heart Donates $200,000 to Saint Vincent DePaul

Southbury, Connecticut – Early 2018, Sacred Heart Church of Southbury, Connecticut donated a total of $200,000 to St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Waterbury. This partnership fund came from the Mustard Seed Fund, the charitable fund established by the parish and initiated by the bequest from Irma Ziegler Smith and Mildred Ziegler. The Mustard Seed Fund annually supports social outreach efforts and service awards for parish youth. After a periodic review of the fund, the finance committee noted exceedingly good returns on investments.

The good return over the past years prompted Father Joseph Donnelly, Pastor at Sacred Heart Church, to ask, “If a Catholic parish has a significant amount of money in savings, and there are people without a roof over their head, healthcare, or food to eat, are they (the parish) any longer authentically Catholic?” Father Joe and the finance committee at Sacred Heart Church agreed to pursue the donation of the partnership grant to St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Waterbury. The relationship between Sacred Heart and St. Vincent DePaul dates back 28 years. To this day, many ministries at Sacred Heart support the basic needs of St. Vincent DePaul by delivering an average of over 14,000 sandwiches per year to the St. Vincent DePaul homeless shelter and cooking and serving hot meals every month. Even with the parishioner’s best efforts to alleviate some of the burdens, St. Vincent DePaul is still operating with minimal resources.

Father Donnelly, who also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at St. Vincent DePaul, organized a meeting with their staff and determined that $100,000 of the donation would be allocated to working capital, including salaries and utility payments. The other half will be used for capital improvement, such as fixing the leaking roof in their office building and computer upgrades.

St. Vincent DePaul is a local, independent, non-profit 501( c )( 3 ) organization. The organization provides services, housing, and basic needs to adults and families struggling with homelessness, poverty, hunger, and mental illness, so that they may achieve their highest potential in the areas of wellness, recovery, and independence. St. Vincent DePaul shelter is the largest in Connecticut offering 123 beds, their soup kitchen serves 300 people per day, the food pantry distributes 170 bags of groceries per week, and the thrift store provides home and clothing essentials to the poor. Much of the support needed to operate these services comes from charitable organizations, government grants, and private donations. While St. Vincent DePaul is appreciative of all the support they receive, they face the same problems that many non-profits are confronted with: inconsistent and unpredictable cash flow and growing needs.

When asking Gary Beaulieu, Executive Director of St. Vincent DePaul Mission, about receiving the donation and the Mission’s relationship with Sacred Heart Church, he stated, “Father Donnelly had created an environment in which the community has become a central point. He brought a heightened awareness to the importance of community in assisting those in need: people experiencing poverty, homelessness, hunger, and mental health challenges.” This is best exemplified through the culture of Sacred Heart Parish, in which there are several social outreach ministries, two annual fundraisers for their twin parish in Haiti, yearly immersion trips to Haiti, and an annual youth mission trip which typically involves about 120 youths. The Sacred Heart community views this donation and all social outreach efforts as an important part of their Catholic identity, ministry and values.

CONTACT:

Sacred Heart Church:

Sabrina Livingston

Communications Manager

TEL: 860.656.8165

email: slivingston@shcsby.org