PHOENIX – The Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s mission statement is, “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.”
Those guiding words of the 191-year-old organization – one of the most well-known both inside and out of the Catholic Church – was among the themes reflected in a message to SVdP members from across the United States Saturday, the final day of their annual conference.
Speaking before a ballroom of 850 Vincentians inside the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Phoenix, New York Times newspaper columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nicholas Kristof used a series of stories from around the globe and some of his own experiences from his hometown of Yamhill, Ore., to recognize the organization’s work and inspire its members to press on for the sake of the poor, needy and hurting.
“When tested, we have a remarkable capacity for decency, courage, strength and resilience. That is what you show. That is what I want to challenge you to keep on showing, and leading others to following this kind of path across America,” Kristof said, adding that the U.S. can be doing much better.
“We’re doing well, but not well enough. As citizens and as a nation, we are doing more for our people than some. We have potential to do so much more.”
Part of the problem, Kristof explained, is in the way Americans often help the poor, or at least how they view being effective at it. Essentially, he said, it’s perceived as a matter of providing someone a meal or a place to stay for the night.
But transformative giving occurs when one invests oneself into helping the person over a period of time until he or she is able to emerge from the circumstances that put them there in the first place.
‘STOLEN’ BOOKS
It is the kind of investment reflected by an employee at a segregated Black school in Arkansas a number of years ago – a woman who caught one of her young male students stealing books from the school library. She soon realized he had no resources to obtain them on his own, so she went out and, in effect, bought them for him, placing the newly purchased items in the library, where she knew the boy would continue to “steal” them, taking them home for his own consumption. In this way, the shelves remained stocked, and the boy still had a ready supply of new reading material – which he used to help spur his education, and one day attend law school. He became one of the state’s first Black lawyers, and, later, a judge, recalled Kristof.
“She had no reason to take a risk on him,” he said. “But because she did, that was transformative for him and all those in turn who he was able to shape, including his daughter, who now has a PhD.
Despite successes like this Kristof said America needs to do more to invest in youngsters, whom he labeled “the human capital” of the next generation.
“…kids in homes where there is an addiction, a chaotic household; kids who don’t have good role models, living in dysfunctional neighborhoods, attending troubled schools.”
Kristof said Americans must overcome their political and educational divides. When it happens, he said, “it’s kind of astonishing what we can get done.”
His message resonated with Pam Matambanadzo, St. Vincent de Paul’s International Territory Vice President for America 1 and former National Vice President of Vincentian Friendship and Community. A parishioner of Mary, Mother of God in Chicago who attends St. Ida, one of the parish’s three churches, Matambanadzo said when serving the less fortunate, one always wants to know the impact of his or her work.
“Are our efforts geared toward making change?” she said. “Sometimes, we get caught up in doing things that just ‘check a box.’
“Catholic social teaching tells us to visualize or gear ourselves toward a person’s human dignity. Just feeding somebody a meal doesn’t provide that. Providing a pathway to self-reliance? That [provides dignity],” she continued.
“That’s what our keynote [speakers] were referring to.”
DIAGNOSING A HEADACHE
A day earlier, the Vincentians heard poverty expert and consultant Dr. Donna Beegle discuss effective communication with the homeless and the poor. Her own experience born into a migrant labor family, being homeless and emerging to earn a doctorate in educational leadership led Beegle to develop practical ways of addressing poverty, such as ignoring stereotypes and recognizing each person as an individual, with their own unique story of how they got there – and devoting not just a few hours but consistently engaging someone over a longer period, in effect walking alongside that person.
Matambanadzo characterized Beegle’s philosophy as similar to a doctor diagnosing a headache. The patient may have a chronic problem, but those headaches are a symptom of something deeper.
“So it is with the homeless,” she said. “You have to help the whole person, not just the symptom.”
Pam Evans, director of development for St. Vincent de Paul in Louisville, Ky., agreed.
“We focus on getting them housed and fed, and once they have that stability, we can focus on the social services. [But] it’s recognizing that it is a long-term commitment.
“It’s hard work, but if we all understand the need, we can [do] it.”
Named to her position last year, Evans also used the four-day conference to gain operational insight. Louisville will host the event in 2025.
Others came away motivated to broaden their volunteering.
St. Gabriel the Archangel in Cave Creek, Ariz., parishioner Ed Carpenter, a district president with St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, wants to use his math experience to tutor students.
“A lot of kids get pretty frustrated with math. If I can help explain it, that will allow them to understand and apply it to situations they may encounter in life.
“Education is easier the more students like it, and the more likely they are to complete their education, the more likely they’ll be to succeed.”
A NEW CEO
The weekend’s keynotes were mingled with a series of workshops and business meetings. 
Rounding out the schedule was Saturday’s Vigil Mass, celebrated by Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix.
Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares celebrated the conference’s opening Mass.
Music for the Friday and Saturday liturgies was furnished by the choir of St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Sun City, Ariz., under the direction of Steve Raml.
The conference also saw St. Vincent de Paul commission its new national CEO.
Named July 31, Michael Acaldo, served in the same capacity for the SVdP Diocesan Council of Baton Rouge, La., which he led to incredible growth.
Its milestones include the founding of a shelter program that has grown to five emergency facilities serving men, women, children and families, and helping start the first St. Vincent de Paul charitable pharmacy in the nation in 1995.
One item wasn’t on the conference schedule, but it was very much on the agenda of attendees such as Matambanadzo.
“I came into this [SVdP] seeking spiritual growth, to be closer to Christ,” Matambanadzo said. “We say [of those we are helping], ‘See the face of Christ.’
“[When we serve], we’re actually seeking a relationship with the Lord. We see each person in need from the perspective of: ‘I am seeking the Lord, and this is where I’m going to find the Lord.’”
