The St. Vincent De Paul Society of Georgia is a nonprofit, social service organization dedicated to serving people in need, regardless of race or religion. SVdP offers assistance to those who have fallen upon times of hardship and personal crisis. Ways in which SVdP helps include providing food, clothing, housing assistance, utility assistance, furniture, MARTA tokens, disaster relief, employment assistance, vocational training, elderly care and even funeral expenses. Frederic Ozanam, as a 20 year-old college student, founded the Society in 1833 in Paris, France. Ozanam and a small group of fellow students visited the homes of the Parisian poor, taking them bread and clothes, while offering friendship and concern. Ozanam chose as the patron of his Society, Vincent de Paul, the 16th century saint regarded as Apostle of Charity. The Society's presence in Georgia was established in 1903 with the foundations of a Society conference at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church in Atlanta.
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Montage of Atlanta images. From top to bottom left...SVdP is an international of lay people with presence in over 135 countries. In Atlanta, SVdP has been serving people in need for more than 97 years.
SVdP exists in a very unique environment. They are an organization of laymen and women who, as volunteers, provide personal counseling and assistance to clients. The Society is Catholic in nature but not funded by the Catholic Church. SVdP "Conferences" have been established in 63 parishes throughout the Diocese of Atlanta. These small
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groups of volunteers, numbering over 1,100, come together to minister to the needy in 63 parishes covering more than 30 counties. The Council office was formed to fulfill technical support needs of the conferences as well as to care for the needy in areas not served by the parishes. According to the Particular Council of Atlanta (2000), the motto, "No Act of...