A
link to the past, a bridge to the future.
Our Mission
A network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.
A Note from Our Diocesan Council President and CEO &
Executive Director:
This year the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island is celebrating our 75th year of helping our neighbors on Long Island. Over the years we have seen economic and natural events as well as everyday challenges that have negatively impacted many individuals and families. As we have witnessed in the past few years, our organization has adapted to ensure we continue our mission of helping people. As it has always been throughout our history, at the core of the Vincentian mission is the “Home Visit” where we meet our neighbors in need. This safeguards that we fully “understand their deeper needs and to share their burdens and joys as true friends of Christ.” For our neighbors, the relief to know they can continue to have a place to call home, feed their family and stay warm as they sleep in a bed at night, may ease the feeling of distress and anxiety.
We have seen a renewed awareness by concerned parishioners that are asking, “How can we help?” As such, we have reached into new communities recently with more on the horizon. This is not possible without our Vincentians who find inspiration in Christ’s life of service to others, living in our communities helping their neighbors.
There are also very generous Long Islanders that share in our spiritual mission of charity by ensuring that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has the financial support necessary to assist the ever-expanding request for help. To our good friends and longtime supporters, and our new benefactors, thank you for your confidence that St. Vincent de Paul will always be good stewards of your funding.
You will notice as you look through this 2022 Annual Report that there is a network of Vincentians, donors, leadership and staff that work every day towards one goal to, “make us responsive to the Christian calling to seek and find the forgotten, the suffering or the deprived so that we may bring them Your love.”
Yours in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul,
Gus Gelardi Diocesan Council President
Thomas J. Abbate CEO & Executive Director
The Vincentian Vocation Renewal & Revitalization
This year, we are looking back at the past 75 years of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island’s accomplishments, our level of service and the millions of neighbors who have been helped.
What a joy to celebrate such a holy and illustrious past! More importantly though, is the need to look forward. As the world changes, the requirements of neighbors in need change and equally, as the demographics of Long Island and our volunteer base continues to shift, we look to the next 75 years and how we can remain relevant in helping others. That is our “bridge” to the future. All of this requires the renewal and revitalization of services, conferences and programs that will be needed as we go forward.
Allison and her husband Dom have soared in their renewed conference at Maria Regina in Seaford. When Vincentian volunteers spoke at the parish last year as part of our conference recruitment efforts, they were both struck with the message and mission of SVDPLI. Their pastor, Fr. Jason, was interested in helping people locally and believed restarting the group could accomplish this. Quite encouragingly, many people attended the renewal meeting. Allison found SVDPLI’s opening conference prayer
extremely powerful and that inspired her to take on a larger role in the conference (coming up on its 1st anniversary), ultimately assuming the Presidency. Since then, almost 20 individuals have become active and consistently participate in each meeting. It is a great show of unity that all members are similarly committed and engaged.
Allison said, “the strength of the conference is rooted in fellowship, sharing and praying together. And service is the key to the conference’s success.” Story after story of helping neighbors in need in a variety of ways were shared with us. Allison added, “That each member feels that even if they cannot address all life’s challenges of those they help, just being present to listen to the despair is essential. People often feel abandoned by God but the conference members, by just being accessible, help to assure His love.” Being God’s “ambassadors” through SVDPLI helps them to know they are not alone.
Growing, Changing... Forever Vincentian!
It is a great gift to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island to have such faithful and active members of our parish conferences and leadership throughout the Diocese. To have a vibrant, new perspective from a growing part of our population on how we, through their hard work and “eyes,” can help other people is even more special. The beauty of such diversity is that, no matter who our volunteers are or where they are from, they embrace the Vincentian mission. People helping other people from all walks of life and backgrounds—that is what makes SVDPLI so vital in our ever-changing world, right here on Long Island!
Nassau and Suffolk Counties are truly a microcosm of the changing demographic of our nation and our state of New York. For decades, we have seen a steady rise in the female population in the United States. Since 1973 there has been a 64% increase in the number of women in the US, who now comprise the majority gender in our country. And SVDPLI has
changed right along with this trend. Interestingly, women were not even eligible for membership in the Society until the early 1970s. Now women encompass majority of our conference membership and leadership.
Additionally, we have seen a significant increase in membership from various minority constituencies, in particular the Hispanic community. The Hispanic population has quadrupled in the US in the last 40 years. We now have a number of conferences that are primarily Spanish speaking. As always, we are committed to have all demographics feel inclusive within the Vincentian mission. What a blessing to have our leadership follow the population trends and thereby keeping our organization strong!
Our Neighbors
At the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island, incredible work is done each day. In our 63 parish conference covering 68 parish communities across the Island, funds are raised for programs that “help” others. Sometimes the help is quite significant, such as providing needed furniture, clothing or rental assistance. Other times it’s helping a family behind on a utility bill or the need for food from one of our pantries. We have thousands of stories to tell about those we help at all levels of need…this year’s story is about our Vincentian volunteers being in the right place at the right time to make a major difference, twice!
An anonymous donor in one of our parish conferences has, for many years, provided funding to the parish for those needing help with oil bills up to $500 per occurrence. One
family, who sought and received this help back in 2020, called the conference again in January for help with the same bill. Our Vincentians found out that after a home visit three years ago, through contacts within the conference, the father had found a good job with New York State—a wonderful side benefit of that initial visit. The cost of oil being so high and the mother working at a lower paying job was the reason for the new request. Our volunteers did another home visit and were able to help again with the bill. In discussions with the family, our Vincentians found out the mother has an advanced degree from her country of origin and was seeking a better job. As it turned out, one volunteer’s daughter was seeking a teacher’s aide in the school where she worked. Very quickly, a connection was made and the mother of this family was hired at a higher salary to perform rewarding work. What started out as two requests for oil bills, led to both parents being helped with their careers. This family is in a better place today because of SVDPLI. “We Help People,” and that is our mission—it may not always come in the most traditional of ways but by the grace of God and the selfless work of our Vincentians, lives are changed each day.
Your Generosity Empowers Us
It says a great deal about an organization that our incredibly generous donors have been supporting the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island for three quarters of a century—and likely much longer. Incorporated in 1948 but serving Long Island since 1902 in an unincorporated manner, people have been supporting us to help our neighbors for over 120 years. Through two world wars, incredible life-changing advancements in technology and everyday human challenges, generous people like you, have been giving to SVPDLI so that others’ lives are made better.
How do people give? Certainly, we are known for our trucks that are on the road seven days a week, with our simple but profound mission stated on each: “We Help People.” At our two stores, people get incredible bargains and those sales come back to us to support our myriad programs: Uplift and Family Assistance, Dismas House and Vincentians in 68 parish communities which traverse more than half the parishes on Long Island. Imagine, last year alone, between our stores, direct gifts, gifts from bequests and more, St. Vincent de Paul was able to help over 131,000 Long Islanders in need! We are blessed and humbled by the generosity of our friends, benefactors and supporters that has spanned nearly four generations. As we celebrate 75 years of changing lives, we see a changing world and changing needs. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island will be there to meet these needs and more in our communities!
Every. Dollar. Helps.
Why I give...
Bob Meekins
Past President of the Diocesan Council & Vincentian
“Over the years I have been blessed to meet many incredible and inspiring people, some I have simply met along the way, others I had the privilege to volunteer with and not unbelievably many are the neighbors that I have been able to help - they sometimes live incredible and difficult lives facing challenges that most of us can’t imagine. They too can be inspirational.”
Time, Talent and Treasure.
Q: What drew you to SVDPLI in the first place?
A: Although it might have been something slightly, if not much, deeper, my recollection these many years later is that I was simply interested in doing something for others. And, as a moderately practicing Catholic at that time, the Society was brought to my attention and presented me with a good platform upon which to accomplish that. At that time, I thought it was “my” idea.
Q: Why do you remain so active after all these years?
A: We consider our voluntary service as a Vincentian to be a vocation, a calling, much like being called to be a plumber, a teacher, a police officer, a doctor, a nurse, a priest or a parent, etc., albeit while sometimes simultaneously having such an occupation. As such, it becomes an intrinsic part of who we are. I treat it as a calling from God. In other more mundane terms, volunteer notwithstanding, I consider it to be an ongoing and very serious commitment.
Q: What about our mission continues to drive you? Has that changed over the years?
A: Our motto is “We Help People.” SVDPLI still offers me the opportunity to help our neighbors in need in a very fundamental and effective way. I get the opportunity to interact with people on a very personal level, visiting them in their homes, listening to their stories and hopefully assuring them, as best I can, that they are not alone, that there are people who care. That has never changed. Today though, people’s needs have changed substantially. But God provides through incredibly generous people who donate financially to the Society in an equally substantial way. The other thing that has changed over the years is the increased emphasis within the Society on the growth in holiness of the Vincentians
themselves. My activities as a Vincentian continue to play a significant part of my personal spiritual growth.
Q: Why do you continue to support SVDP events and through monthly giving?
A: I have had the honor, privilege and pleasure of being involved in various capacities at many SVDPLI events. These events bring Vincentians together in friendship to share a common bond. They also showcase the Society and all that it does to help raise awareness and money to ultimately help people. The Society is not just bins! New Vincentians, as well as some not so new, are surprised at the scope of SVDPLI’s programs/activities and the many ways that we help people and grow personally. All of this is particularly true and important to show to our current and potential donors, as well as present and future volunteers.
As far as monthly giving is concerned, the Society’s ACT (Affecting Change Together) Program has simply given Denise and me, as it does everyone, the opportunity to routinely give to the Society ensuring that it is always a part of our tithe. Regular giving also assures us that the money will be used in a manner that is totally consistent with our desires/values. We must never take for granted the many activities of the Diocesan Central Council and their related costs.
Q: What do you see as your legacy for being part of this organization?
A: I never really think about my Vincentian vocation in terms of my legacy. But I do very much believe in the impact any one of us can have on the people we come in contact with, and the very real and positive ripple effect of that contact. If we do all that in a manner consistent with the purpose for which God created us, what a wonderful legacy that would be for any one of us.
Thrift Stores & Donation
Bins
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island thrift stores are the places where both donor generosity and a neighbor’s search for a hidden gem converge. Our inventory is a collaboration of the donations collected through our distinctively branded green clothing donation bins and the generous furniture donations we pick up at your home. Those who donate believe in our mission and want to ensure that families throughout Long Island can have access to quality items at affordable prices. Whether you are donating or shopping, you are giving! With one store in Garden City Park and the other in Huntington, these retail locations have become beacons on Long Island that shed light on our mission and broaden our reach.
These donations are critical to helping SVDPLI fulfill our mission. At almost every home visit our Vincentians discover neighbors in great need of adequate clothing. We invite our families to come to our store and choose from a large selection of clothing items that will fill their needs. Often, they find a family without beds to sleep in or a table in
which to share a family meal. We help instill a sense of pride and ensure our neighbors that they are on a path to self-reliance. Faces light up when our truck arrives...that makes us smile too.
The
revenue from our thrift stores supports all programs and services we provide.
Garden City Park, NY
1950’s, Garden City Park, NY
2023,
The gift of a second chance... Dismas House
Founded in 1988, Dismas House is a longstanding program of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island. It achieves a community level of support vital to the provisional success of men returning from incarceration. Dismas offers a fresh, supportive, safe environment—the antithesis of an institutional setting. We provide an atmosphere beneficial to our resident’s recovery which focuses on self-reliance and self-sufficiency. Our staff guides the personalized direction of each resident and the volunteers who offer Dismas their time and abilities. This helps to initiate a life of stabilization, while forming regular personal and work habits, beneficial relationships and a deeper spiritual awareness.
Since the Fall of 2022, Dismas House has been privileged to host several Vincentian seminarian volunteers, Vincent Luong and José Le. In connection with Fr. Mike Nguyen and the Vincentian family, they visit each week as part of their ministry formation and apostolate placement. Vincent and José’s visits include preparing and sharing modest meals with the residents and staff, learning about our culture and sharing their own.
Vincent and José have gained admiration for the altruistic work being done at Dismas. They have reflected on how challenging it can be to get a second chance where they are from; that is what
they find so encouraging about the Dismas ministry. They are inspired by St. Vincent’s charism and how they can help to advance his “modern day” mission through volunteerism. Inspiration also comes from house manager Mike, who generously offers his time and great talents to support the reentry process.
Having established a connection with the residents, Vincent and José routinely seek what foods they like to eat while introducing their own customary specialties. They often stay way past their appointed service time to play cards or board games with the residents, enjoying the house’s notable family atmosphere. We are encouraged by this mutually beneficial sharing of cultures, life experiences and human connection. For our residents, it is another step in their assimilation back into society, an
additional source of regularity as they continue their transition. For Vincent and José, it is another way of valuing and appreciating the Vincentian mission. Their simple yet profound interactions with all at Dismas House will deepen their faith and be life changing for all.
Year Ending 09/30/2022 $0 $125,000
$7,000,000
$6,000,000
$5,000,000
$4,000,000
$3,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
Special Events
Special Events are a vital tool for many non-profits organizations. They not only generate income used to support programs and a means of sustaining day-to-day operations, but events are an excellent way of connecting and sharing with donors and constituents. They are unique opportunities for gathering in one place to share a fun time for a cause, provide a needed service or gather for unity that leads to support.
At the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island, we too host events to seek support as well as honor those who give selflessly of their time, talent and treasure.
For the past 18 years, we have hosted a Golf Outing that provides a great day of friendship, good will and needed support. In May 2022, we honored Joe McCarthy, Vincentian Volunteer of the Year and Greg Demetriou, CEO of Lorraine Gregory Communications as our Business Honoree. Joe is a dedicated, decades-long Vincentian, generous donor and past Board Member. Greg is a longstanding, dear friend/partner with SVDPLI on numerous communications projects including this report! With over 100 golfers and thankfully good weather, a great day was had by all.
For the past 14 years, we have held our Annual Friends of the Poor Walk close to the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul (September 27th). This event
brings together hundreds of members of our 68 parish conference communities to raise money for their individual conferences. In 2022, over $251,000 was raised! All of the funds raised went back to the conferences to support their many programs.
In 2023, as we celebrate 75 years of helping others, here is our slate of events:
19th Annual Golf Outing will be held at Huntington Country Club on Monday, May 15, 2023 honoring Sonia Burgos, Vincentian Volunteer of the Year.
15th Annual Friends of the Poor Walk will be held at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford on Saturday, September 30, 2023. All are welcome to come and walk in support of others!
On Thursday, November 2, 2023 we will host our 75th Anniversary Gala Dinner at The Heritage Club in Bethpage State Park. Past Board Presidents and leadership, who have helped us achieve so much in our three quarters of a century of helping neighbors, will be honored.
For more information and to join us, volunteer or support these events in any way, please contact Joseph Geraci, Director of Development, at 516-822-3132 x106.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Long Island
Board of Directors
Most Rev. Bishop John O. Barres, Honorary President
Gustave Gelardi, President
Neil Lucey, First Vice President
William Jennings, Treasurer
Dr. John Franco, Secretary
Rev. Msgr. Gerard Ringenback, Spiritual Advisor
Thomas Abbate, CEO & Executive Director
Board of Committees
Executive
Gustave Gelardi, Chair
Thomas Abbate
Rev. Msgr. Gerard Ringenback
Sonia Burgos
Maureen Cleary
Michelle Fiore
Dr. John Franco
William Imbesi
William Jennings
Neil Lucey
Robert Meekins
Carole Stuchbury
Leadership Staff
Thomas Abbate, CEO & Executive Director
Barry Giaquinto, Chief Financial Officer
Joseph J. Geraci, Director of Development
Joseph Lazarich, Director of Store Operations
Jennifer Bello
Sonia Burgos
Maureen Cleary
Robert Ellis
Michelle Fiore
William Imbesi
David Lynch
Robert Meekins
James O’Connor
Carole Stuchbury
Jennifer Tuschong
Michele Walters
Finance/Audit
James O’Connor, Chair
Gustave Gelardi
Thomas Abbate
Barry Giaquinto
Robert Ellis
William Jennings
Douglas Pi
Paula Migliore, Director of Transitional Housing & Vincentian Services Advisor
Karen Werner, Director of Human Resources
Terri Zenobio, Director of Vincentian Services
Governance
Robert Ellis, Chair
Gustave Gelardi
Thomas Abbate
Barry Giaquinto
William Jennings
