St. Vincent de Paul Society Opens Second Vancouver Store
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - The St. Vincent de Paul Society in Vancouver established its first store at Twelfth and Main in 1994. On October 15, they will open their doors to the needy at a second Vancouver location at 1738 East Hastings Street.
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FATHER TERRY BILESKI
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The St. Vincent de Paul Society is a lay Catholic organization whose mission is to live the gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice and joy. The value of the Society is to see Christ in anyone who suffers, come together as a family, have personal contact with the poor and help in all ways possible. Most of the work of the Society is done at the parish conference level by visiting needy persons in the parish.
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FATHER SCHWAB Chancellor of the Archdiocese. He is also the pastor at St. Francis of Assisi.
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The store accepts donations of furniture, small appliances and clothing. People can either drop off these items at the store or, in the case of furniture or heavier items, the society has a truck that can pick these items up. The money from the sale of these items is used to help the poor, homeless and needy.
The St. Vincent de Paul Outreach Program serves sandwiches, coffee and juice to the homeless on the Downtown Eastside, every Wednesday and Friday at Main and Hastings. With the colder weather and onset of winter, there is also a need for blankets and warm clothing that the society needs to distribute to the homeless on the streets.
At the end of September, when the renovations at the new East Hastings store were complete, St. Vincent de Paul volunteers and friends gathered at the new premises for a blessing by Father Terry Bileski. He is the Spiritual Director of the Society and is also the pastor at St. Francis de Sales Parish.
Thomas (Tom) O’Flynn, who was recently appointed B.C. Provincial Council President and is also on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Canada for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, spoke to the gathering. He said, “it took us 11 years to open this second store, but hopefully we will have another store within the next five years with more to follow.”
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THOMAS O'FLYNN with (L) Rose Moran, secretary and past president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and (R) Sheila Coutu, Vancouver Archdiocesan Central Council President.
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Continuing, he said, “we are also hoping to initiate a job skills program to assist people coming off welfare to become employable. The program will be held in our stores, where people will learn the cash register, community service, sales, dispatch and delivery. This is something that we are working on right now.”
Tom O’Flynn credits Father Bileski’s father, who was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society for 40 years, for being the one who motivated him to become a volunteer with the Society.
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THREE OF THE VOLUNTEERS who worked on the renovations at the new store (L-R) Thomas Butler, Ivan Douglas and Tom Scanlon.
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Tom, in turn, influenced his son, John O’Flynn, who is now the president of the Vancouver Particular Council for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and is also a member of the National Board for the Youth.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society is in the process of hiring a manager for the new store and eventually an area supervisor for all the stores. However, volunteers are urgently required for both stores.
If you can spare some time during the week to volunteer at either location, or if you can help by making sandwiches for the St. Vincent de Paul Outreach Program, or make a donation of clothing, call (604) 873-1003 or (604) 873-1065, or the Help Line at (604) 873-2297 and leave a message for Sheila.
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