SOCIETY OF
ST VINCENT DE PAUL
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) was started in our Parish in November 1995 by Rev. Fr. Salvador Rodrigues with a donation of Rs.71,000/-. Prior to this, it was functioning as St. Michael’s Guild with the blessings of Msgr. Aguiar in 1965. In the Archdiocese of Bombay and Greater Mumbai, there are 125 units broken into various Zones of 10-12 units, each called a Conference. Each Zone has a Council; our Zone’s Council is called Mumbai Particular Conference consisting of 10-12 Presidents of each Conference. All the 10 Zones form a Central Council consisting of 10 Presidents of Particular Conference. Our Conference of St. Michael files Income Tax Returns, is recognized as a Trust and has been granted 80G Certificate by Charity Commissioner. There are 36 adopted families under the care of the SVP.
The main activity of the SVP of our Parish is helping the poor by giving monthly rations. At Christmas every year, each adopted family is given a Christmas hamper with donations received from our Parishioners. The SVP also has a mandatory obligation to aid the Aids Hospice and Leprosy Home, Home for the Aged in Kalyan and the Ozanam Community Kitchen and Clinic.
Procedure for applying for ration in our Parish:
-
A written application is to be submitted by the family to their Parish Council Representative.
-
The application is then to be discussed at the SCC Core Group Meeting.
-
The application, if passed by the SCC Core Group, must be signed by the Parish Council Representative and handed over to the SVP.
-
The SVP will then conduct due diligence based on the guidelines laid down by the Trust.
-
If the family meets all criteria, they will be enlisted for monthly rations.
Rations are given based on four categories that are determined by the number of members in the family viz. one person, two people, three people or four people. It is distributed on the 1st Saturday each month. The rations include the following: rice, wheat, dal, sugar, 1 litre cooking oil and tea leaves.