The 34th annual Blanket Sunday appeal, sponsored by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, kicks off the weekend of Oct. 10-11.
Last year, funds from the appeal were used to purchase 6,000 winter blankets and 200 beds that were provided to the homeless and to low-income individuals and families throughout Northeast Ohio.
Although the coronavirus pandemic caused a reduction in the number of parish in-pew Blanket Sunday donation envelopes, the need is still great and donations can be made securely online by clicking here. Checks also can be mailed to St. Vincent de Paul Society Blanket Sunday, 1404 East 9th St., 3rd Floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.
SVDP Cleveland is affiliated with the international Society of St. Vincent de Paul, one of the oldest charitable organizations in the world. Originally known as the Conference of Charity, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 by French scholar Frédéric Ozanam, his fellow students and others – including Sister Rosalie Rendu — who helped thousands of poor living in the slums of Paris during the cholera epidemic.
The first United States volunteer group conference was launched in 1845 in St. Louis, Missouri. Only 20 years later, in 1865, the Diocese of Cleveland started its first conference at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland. Today, SVDP Cleveland consists of 63 parish groups in Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties.
SVDP Cleveland is a local human services and welfare organization that positively impacts the lives of more than 212,000 people annually within the eight counties of the Diocese of Cleveland. It has a core of more than 2,500 members and volunteers, known as Vincentians, at participating local neighborhood parishes, also known a conferences, and at its hunger centers Each year, SVDP Cleveland helps Northeast Ohio’s poor in the following ways:
- Provides free food, clothing, furniture and other necessities at its multiple hunger centers and parish-based food pantries.
- Prevents eviction and homelessness with rent and mortgage assistance.
- Provides emergency help to prevent water, heat and electric shut-offs.
- Distributes more than $40,000 worth of school supplies annually to low-income children.
- Donates thousands of warm winter blankets to homeless individuals and families.
This emergency help translates into nearly $9 million in direct assistance and in-kind services annually in Northeast Ohio.
For more information, call 216-696-6525, Ext. 3150 or e-mail info@svdpcle.org.