Bishop Edward Malesic joined Anelize Nader, CEO, St. Vincent de Paul Society Diocese of Cleveland, Ed Leszynski, SVDP board president, Bob Kellner, SVDP hunger centers logistics/inventory coordinator, and other guests on May 10 to bless the new box truck acquired by the organization.
The blessing took place at Brookside Hunger Center, one of SVDP Society’s ministry sites. As the group gathered, there was a stream of cars passing through to obtain boxes of food from the hunger center. Brookside Hunger Center is located in a building at the corner of West 25th Street and Archwood Avenue in Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood.
The new truck, which replaced a 16-year-old vehicle that had become unreliable and costly to repair, is in service picking up and delivering food to the SVDP hunger centers. This allows the organization to save money by not having to incur delivery charges from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. The truck also distributes beds and mattresses from the SVDP supply center to families in need, blankets to local agencies for distribution to homeless men, women and families, school supplies and more.
During the pandemic, the old truck has been used as a mobile food pantry to keep staff, volunteers and those they serve safe while still providing hunger relief.
Donations financed the purchase of the new truck.
Reflecting on the mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Bishop Malesic told the group, “Things we can’t do alone we can do extremely well together.” He said the Church is deeply concerned and involved in the care of the poor, both spiritually and materially.
“The poor strengthen us,” he said, adding, “this truck is a tool to help us fill the needs of the poor.”
The blessing included prayers, a reading from sacred Scripture, a psalm and intercessions. The bishop sprinkled the truck with holy water and held out his hand to bless the vehicle and those gathered for the event. Afterwards, there was ceremonial ribbon cutting.
Bishop Malesic also toured Brookside Hunger Center, which is located in the two-story, 13,000-square-foot building that previously housed medical clinic. It was purchased by SVDP in 2019 to house its Brookside Family Center, which includes social services, the food pantry and meeting space. A portion of the building is leased to the Renee Jones Empowerment Center, which helps to rebuild the lives of those being trafficked or sexually assaulted, as well as supporting anti-trafficking and anti-violence efforts.
SVDP Society Cleveland is affiliated with the international Society of St. Vincent de Paul, one of the oldest charitable organizations in the world. It was founded in 1833 by French scholar Frederic Ozanam and others to help the poor living in the slums of Paris during the cholera epidemic.
The first United States conference was launched in 1845 in St. Louis, Missouri. A mere 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 (conferences) in the eight counties of the diocese: Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne.
For more information on volunteering, supporting or receiving services from SVDP Cleveland, click here.