Our first assignment for my design class was a contribution to the Discarded to Divine fashion show and auction for the St. Vincent de Paul Society in San Francisco.

The project itself had a few different layers to it. We were to go to the De Young and find something there as inspiration. Then we would go to the clothing storage facility that The St. Paul Society has in the Tenderloin and pick out 3 garments. We had to re-construct these garments and use at least 10% of them in our first design.

The museum wasn’t open the day I went, so I decided to use the building itself as my inspiration.
I developed this pattern from the dot patterns on the side of the De Young:

I collected 3 pairs of women’s Dockers from the clothing storage facility and went on to make this hoodie:

I’ve spent the last four weeks developing a collection based on the hoodie I’d made and I presented it in my design class yesterday and turned it in for inspection by the head of my department today.

By LIZ FREEMAN

Originally published 12:55 p.m., July 13, 2009
Updated 06:59 p.m., July 13, 2009

NAPLES — The Salvation Army of Collier County and other local charities are facing an onslaught of requests for food and other aid, with numbers doubling since last summer.

And charity directors fear how much worse it will get in August and September, traditionally the slowest time of the year in Southwest Florida.

The Salvation Army in June helped 1,675 local residents, nearly double the 911 clients assisted in June 2008, according to Chris Nind, director of development for the charity. Food distribution has skyrocketed from 926 pounds of food given out in June 2008 to 16,990 pounds last month.

Financial assistance to pay for utilities and rent, where the aide is sent directly to the landlords and utility companies, has spiked to $31,916 last month. The figure stood at $13,833 in June 2008.

“It is very, very severe,” Nind said. “We just have to be very conscious of the need and do the best we can. It is a challenge.”

The surge in need while donations and other means of support, such as from thrift store sales, is a plight shared by other charities with food pantries and utility and rent assistance programs.

“Last week we were utterly amazed,” said Carolyn Henry, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Society in Naples. “We had 207 clients last week alone. It is even spiraling as we speak.”

Requests for food is where Catholic Charities has seen the biggest jump, said Allegra Belliard, program director. Last year they averaged 250 requests for food each month and now it stands at 552 requests each month. Individuals seeking help for prescriptions is now averaging 51 people a month compared to 43 a month last year at this time

“Food is the big one because people are trying to save as much as they can to pay rent or utilities,” she said.

She and others don’t see any end in sight as jobs continue to evaporate.

“Not this year, I don’t think,” Belliard said. “We hear it every day, more people are laid off or their hours are cut back. It doesn’t stop.”

All the charities rely heavily on the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Collier Harvest, food drives by schools and the letter carriers, along with help from churches, civic groups and companies. For instance, M&I Bank is conducting a canned food drive this month for the Salvation Army and so is Moorings Presbyterian Church, Nind said.

“Obviously we are getting some additional support from the community but we are having to purchase additional food,” Nind said.

The job losses are across the board and more professional people are seeking help after being laid off. In order to get food or assistance with rent, individuals must be local residents and show their Social Security cards, he said.

“We are overwhelmed and we are trying to do the best we can to assist the needy in the community,” said Capt. Alejandro Castillo, the Salvation Army’s area coordinator.

Overall, the Naples chapter of the Salvation Army is over budget for social service assistance by $75,000. The charity also gets money for utility assistance from Florida Power & Light with its Care to Share program, where people can make a donation on their electric bill.

St. Vincent de Paul likewise is having to spend more money for food, even though it gets support from parish food drives, Henry said. A year ago during the month of June, they had 838 clients and this past June the number was 1,439 clients. For rent and utility help, the charity spent $12,908 in June 2008 and that climbed to $23,500 this past June, she said.

The charity gave out nonperishable food valued at $13,013 in June 2008 and for this past June, the amount was $23,575, she said. The charity had to spend $4,556 last month to provide food for the needy, a big jump from $1,588 spent in June 2008.

“It’s been dramatic,” she said. “Our income comes primarily from thrift store (sales) and thrift stores are flat.”

The charity also is licensed to sell donated cars but fewer cars are coming in, another sign of the recession. In the first months of last year, St. Vincent de Paul got 51 donated cars and that’s down to 11 for the first five months of this year.

“The need has dramatically changed and the income has not,” she said. “It’s challenging for us.”

© Naples News

HOMELESS CAMPING City considers RV parking at churches for homeless

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) Officials in Springfield, Oregon, are considering whether to let homeless families camp in recreational vehicles in church parking lots.

It would be similar to a program in nearby Eugene that’s run by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County which allows homeless people to live in their vehicles for up to three months.

Springfield City Manager Gino Grimaldi says only one RV per church parking lot would be permitted, and there would be fewer than a dozen churches taking part.

All families would be members of St. Vincent de Paul’s overnight parking program, where they’re assigned a case manager and screened for drug use and criminal backgrounds.

The city would pay for portable restrooms and evaluate the program after six months.

Like a shadow or a sentinel he stood in the entrance hall, thin, erect, quiet. George approached me and said, “Do you know who that fellow is?” “No,” I answered. “He’s H. S. He used to help me years ago when we gave out the Christmas Baskets with Sr. Leon. He’s a great guy. Now he can’t help because he’s got a hernia.” “Oh,” I answered, helping George but a box full of food for Easter in the back of Peter’s car for delivery to a poor family.

It was the St. Vincent De Paul Society’s and the parishioners small, very small, drop of water to ease their thirst for comfort.

“Why is he here now,” I asked. “He needs help,” George continued. “Gee, I hate to see him standing there. You know he’s a Marine. A vet.” I looked back up the hill to where he stood just inside the open door. He hadn’t moved an inch, twitched a muscle, standing there, with a hernia and God knew what else bothering him, like a fence post.

“Do you think you could figure out some way to get him taken care of early so he doesn’t have to keep standing there?”

I promised George I would and he went off with Peter to deliver food. It was still at least an hour before folks would be showing up to collect their baskets. Inside the church, St Christopher’s, the tables set up in the basement were filling with thousands of dollars worth of food for Easter dinner brought in by the parishioners. Teams of people were checking them off and preparing for the others, the ones we’ll always have with us, their ranks noticeably swelled since Christmas, to arrive.

I walked back up the hill to the door to the basement, and nodded to the fellow as I entered. He returned my nod with a calm, steady look of his own. I felt my measure being taken. “You’re a Marine?” “Third Marine Division,” he answered quietly, straightening imperceptibly.

“Korea? Vietnam?”

“Korea.”

“I’m going to see if we can do something about getting you taken care of sooner. You’ve been standing around here for a while, now, and we won’t start distributing stuff for another hour..”

“That’s OK,” he answered. “I’m fine, but if you can do something I’d appreciate it. I have to be in Boston at 6:00PM.”

I approached my wife, Mariellen, who was more or less in charge of the operation, and asked her if something could be done. She told me that we couldn’t take the risk that word would not get out and we would have people gathering hours before anyone showed up with food to give them. She apologized, and asked me to apologize to H., but that was the way it had to be. “Offer him a cup of coffee and a chair to sit in while he waits.”

On the way back to tell him I grabbed a chair and brought it over to him. “Orders are orders,” I said. He smiled slightly and nodded. “Want a coffee,” I asked. He thanked me and I left to get him a coffee and a pastry. We give them out to folks as they wait in line.

Coming back I squatted down across the hallway from him and told him about my Uncle Henry and his brothers who’d all gone through World War II in Europe. He grunted. I told him about my father-in-law who enlisted as a senior in high school and was the only boy from his class to survive. “I was the only one of twelve who came back. All the other parents were angry with me for coming back.” I told him about the Korean vet I’d interviewed in Ohio a few years ago for a newspaper article, how he taught his buddies how to chew tree bark when they’d run out of food.

“That must have been up near Chosin. That’s where I was captured, became a POW.” “How long,” I asked? “Three years,” he said flatly, matter of factly. “I still get angry when I see Orientals. They made us play Russian roulette and laughed when we blew out our brains,” he continued. We talked for another ten or fifteen minutes about his experience in the camp and after, when he got home. It is a tale for another day. I left him sitting there, but he won’t leave me.

It began to get busy shortly after. I made sure he was the first guy in line to get his food and we nodded to each other as he left. The line stretched into the street. Folks smiled and thanked us, humbled themselves to accept our thanks for being able to help them and left wishing us a Happy Easter.

I remember one old woman coming up the hill, limping, nearly toothless, her hair a mad squall atop her head, shoes untied, shuffling along. I asked her if she needed to sit. “Oh, thank you,” she said, “I’m so tired and sick, and my husband is home sick. My friend is here to help me. I don’t know what to do. I feel so tired. I’m sixty one.” I helped her over to the desk to check her in.

I thought, “She’s six years younger than me and she looks twenty years older.” The phrase “grinding poverty” flashed across my mind.

__________________________________________________________

The afternoon wore on. The tables groaning with boxes and boxes of food and goods emptied, were folded and stored away. The crowd thinned out. It became apparent that some people had not shown up, and may not show up. Mariellen began to phone our “clients”. One of them could not make it because she was at the hospital with a sick child, another had lost her husband only a week before and was too confused and deadened with grief to remember that she had to be at the church on Palm Sunday. Chris and Mike and their families, and Father Kelley loaded their cars and pickups and vans with the boxes for these people and left to deliver them. Nancy stayed a while helping us do the final cleaning. Then it was the two of us, Mariellen and me.

We sat for a while, quiet. “Let’s get these last few things into the car,” she said. There were about four boxes of foodstuffs which we would bring to the Corpus Christi Center on Monday. I loaded the car and we went to a nearby restaurant for a quick, cheap dinner.

“Did you see Mrs. X.,” she asked. “No, I don’t think I did. Remind me who she is.” I’ve had a few conversations with her,” Mariellen said. “She’s the grandmother who is taking care of her son’s children, six of them under six years old, triplets, twins and a little girl, while his wife went over to Europe to be with her son who is in the service.” “Wow,” was all I could say.

“She was beside herself today,” Mariellen said. “She still has the children. Her daughter-in-law is in Germany with her son. She told me this morning that she just found out her son was wounded and will be a cripple. She doesn’t know when they will be back and what will happen when they do come back.”

“God help them. God help her.”

Each month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his special prayer intentions–particular things that he wishes all Catholics to pray for that month. (When, for instance, we pray the rosary and say the prayers at the end for the intentions of the Holy Father, these are the intentions for which we’re praying.)

Pope Benedict offers two intentions every month, one general, and one for a particular Catholic missionary activity. His general prayer intention for April 2009 is “That the Lord may bless farmers’ work with an abundant harvest and sensitise the richer populations to the drama of hunger in the world.” As we conclude our Lenten journey, we could supplement our prayer with action by increasing our regimen of fasting, and donate the food or money saved to our parish’s St. Vincent De Paul Society or a local food bank. Particularly in this economy, such corporal works of mercy may mean the difference between health and sickness for others.

Pope Benedict’s mission intention is “That the Christians who operate in the territories where the conditions of the poor, the weak and the women and children are most tragic, may be signs of hope, thanks to their courageous testimony to the Gospel of solidarity and love.” Our missionary activity stems from our conviction that Christ did indeed rise from the dead on Easter Sunday. As we experience the joy of the Resurrection, we should support with prayers and donations those who share that joy with those who do not yet know Christ.

“Give light and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Erasmus

What could be sadder than seeing a worn wooden box marked “Donations for the Poor” at the back of your church? Dropping your coins in and hearing them hit the empty wooden bottom with a hollow clunk.

Maybe it fills up fast and they empty it on the hour, I told myself when it happened to me today.

Then I stopped at the rows of candles in the alcove by the side door and was faced with a dilemma. I had a bunch of people I wanted to remember, but there was only one unlit candle left.

I decided that even though none of these dearly departed souls had ever met each other, they were all linked through me. And I’d be the one lighting the candle, so maybe they wouldn’t mind sharing. Strange logic, I know.

So lit it I did. Then I prayed they were all at peace.

It’s funny. Lighting a candle seems like such a small gesture, so inconsequential really, and yet it feels so big, so significant at the same time. Is it the bringing of light from darkness? Watching the flame flicker higher? Seeing the dead wick come alive?

Whatever it is, a lot of us must feel it. For when I walked away, all the candles were burning bright ….

P.S. One website, Gratefulness.org, has created a lovely, peaceful website that allows you to a light candle online — really. As the opening page on Light a Candle says, “A solitary candle brings light to the darkness and serves as a reminder of the power of the human spirit.” Check it out and light a candle, it’s pretty cool.

ST. MARTIN DEANERY — Instead of new clothes, shoes or the latest bag for her 13th birthday, Marissa Miller wanted something more meaningful than material things. She celebrated becoming a teenager last month and requested canned goods from friends in place of gifts.

“I knew I had enough stuff and I didn’t need any presents,” the St. Thomas More seventh-grader said. “It just feels good to help others in the shelter or sitting out in the cold.”

With the help of her friends, Miller collected 165 canned goods at her birthday party and donated them to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. She came up with the idea having participated in several service projects at school and as a member of Girl Scout Troop 6638, led by her mother, Lisa Miller.

Read more: http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/tct/jan0209/010209teen.html

By HEATHER ROTH Staff Writer
Published December 23, 2008
Brown paper bags stuffed with groceries lined the sidewalk behind St. Mary’s Catholic Church Saturday morning. Black garbage bags bursting with presents were mounded in the grass; and hundreds of turkeys were piled on the asphalt.
As drivers started arriving before 8:30 a.m., high school volunteers grabbed the bags to load into the cars. This year, the Annapolis Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society donated groceries to 536 area families and provided Christmas presents to more than 800 children.

“I think something we should do is to help people who are less fortunate when we have the resources and ability and time to do it,” said Ken Egan, president of the society. “It’s a spiritual thing, and a friendship thing.”

The St. Vincent de Paul Society was formed in Paris in the 1800s, but the Annapolis conference started in 1971.

Read more: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/12_23-18/CAN

http://catholicism.about.com/b/2008/12/23/charity-begins-at-home.htm

Scott’s Catholicism Blog
By Scott P. Richert, About.com Guide to Catholicism

Tuesday December 23, 2008
In these uncertain economic times, many families are finding themselves this Christmas without sufficient income or in danger of losing what they have. And yet, as the Catholic News Service reports, donations to Catholic charities have declined just at the time that they’re most needed.
Catholic parishes and dioceses are on the frontline, providing for the needs of the poor, but parishioners often don’t think about those activities when making their weekly donations at Mass. Lower donations also affect parish schools and other essential activities.

Pope Benedict, at a meeting at the Vatican’s Central Labor Office on December 19, noted that, in this economic crisis, “Those who have the possibility of working should be thankful to God and open their hearts with generosity toward those who find themselves with employment and economic difficulties.”

This Christmas, when you’re considering your year-end donations to charitable organizations, why not start with a little extra for your parish and for diocesan programs for the poor? You can always designate your donation to a particular cause–your parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, for example, or for Catholic education.

Other charitable organizations need donations as well, but we should never forget that our first duty is to those closest to us. Our parish and our diocese can help us serve our neighbors more effectively.

by Mary Ann Thomas
Staff Writer
December 18, 2008
Canned peas and carrots, generic macaroni and cheese and “shelf” milk help fill the cupboards of April Knoblach’s kitchen in Shaler to feed her husband and three children.

The Knoblachs are one of about 100 area families receiving help from the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s food pantry in the basement of St. Mary Church in Sharpsburg.

“Sometimes they give you a roast, along with potatoes, carrots and onion and you have the makings for a roast that you can just put into a crock pot,” said the 42-year-old Knoblach. “It was always a treat to get that roast.”

Read more of this article:

http://www.yourfoxchapel.com/herald/article/pantry-puts-food-tables-during-tough-times

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1229012141305990.xml&coll=4

Bay City Times (Michigan)

Thursday, December 11, 2008
By PATTI BRANDT
pbrandt@bc-times.com | 894-9673
A dollar might not go too far these days, but at St. James Catholic Church one little greenback can mean a whole lot of generosity.

The church, 710 Columbus Ave., passed the collection basket at its Thanksgiving Day Mass, but instead of asking for the usual tithing, each person was instructed to take a dollar out of the basket.

A note stapled to each bill said this: ”This dollar is pure gift … like the gift of life itself from God. As a recipient of such generosity what can you do for someone else?”

And in a pay-it-forward style plan, parishioners were asked to find a way to help someone else with the dollar they had been given.

Later on during the same Mass, the regular basket was passed taking up the church’s annual donation for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. But parishioners were instructed not to put their dollar back in the basket – they were to come up with a more creative use for it.

Some did.

An altar boy reportedly went out right after Mass and gave his dollar to a homeless person he saw on the street.

Other dollars found their way into the buckets of Salvation Army bell-ringers.

Some grew to be more than just a dollar, with their recipients adding something to it before giving it away.

Parishioner Tom Herek, Bay City’s fire marshal, added a few bucks to his and bought a case of canned goods he took to the Salvation Army at 401 10th St.

Herek said that everything is ‘’scary” this year, reminding him of stories of the Great Depression he’s heard from his parents.

”It’s made you reflect just a little bit and I find myself doing things this year that I’ve never done before,” Herek said.

Louise Krease lives in a local senior high rise center. Every year, Krease, who has seven adult children, makes a donation to a charity in their names instead of buying them gifts.

This year she is filling a cart on wheels, which she said is handy for anyone who has to walk to the store, with some things that have been given to her that she doesn’t need: Toothbrushes from her dentist, socks that don’t fit, corn chips she didn’t eat. She’s ”regifting” the unopened items to the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission, 713 Ninth St. – cart and all – along with a monetary donation.

”I’m sure the Good Samaritan Mission will find a person who needs the cart, and they will find a use for all the items in the cart,” Krease said.

And Krease is tossing her St. James dollar bill – with message intact – into the cart.

Maybe whoever gets it will pass it on, she said.

”That’s what I’m hoping.”

The idea to give money away came from a parishioner, said Ann Roznowski, chair of the liturgy committee. That same parishioner, who wants to remain anonymous, also funded the idea, giving the church 300 $1 bills to pass out.

The committee had been trying to think of a unique way to demonstrate generosity to its church-goers. In the past the church has given out mini loaves of bread, symbolic of the loaves of bread given out by Jesus to feed the multitudes. But this year it wanted to do something different.

”The dollar was a gift, just like the gift of life,” Roznowski said. ”We wanted to see what people could do with their dollars.”

The idea was that the dollar, when given away, would increase like Jesus’ loaves, creating generosity not just in its givers, but in its receivers.

”It was to basically say, ‘Folks, life is a gift – give it away,”’ said the Rev. Bob DeLand, pastor at St. James. ”It was that simple. It was just an attempt really to allow people more gratitude.”

No, not the Ice Hotel.

Winter sucks. There, I said it. Yes, I know, those lovely snowflakes look beautiful on Christmas morn’ but by Boxing Day I’m more than ready to welcome spring.

The only time I truly appreciate winter is when I watch Weather Channel reports of hurricanes or tsunamis or landslides off in some tropical part of the world. “Winter’s not so bad, I guess,” I mutter to myself as I pull on my long underwear.

Today, in a rare flash of unselfishness, I realized winter isn’t all about me. It’s a lot rougher on those who sleep, well, rough. So today, I went through my closet to find any coats that I know I will never wear again but keep around for a “rainy day” (or actually, a “snowy” day … you get the picture).

My plan is to drop them off at the St. Vincent De Paul Society, which holds a “winter coat drive” every year.

Reading the following story about a cub scout’s “good turn” (which are part of official “Scout Law,” apparently) inspired this idea:

Warm hearts on cold streets
In the deep freeze of a Canadian winter, one thing we often take for granted is our warm beds. Yet for so many people living on the streets of Toronto, this small comfort can be out of reach.

I used to wonder why one particular homeless man in my neighbourhood always seemed so cheerful, despite the hardships he must face every night in this unforgiving weather; so one day I decided to ask him.

“It’s because I have four sleeping bags that I use all at once,” he informed me. He felt he was lucky to have them. This made me realize that many others in his situation must not be so lucky to have even a sleeping bag to curl up in at night.

When I asked him if he knew anyone who needed a sleeping bag he nodded “yes” without hesitation. I decided this was an opportunity for my Cub Pack to help out a fellow human being.

When I told the children about this man and how people he knew had to sleep out in the cold, they reminded me of an old abandoned sleeping bag that had been left in the storage room after a winter camping trip. We all agreed it could be put to better use.

A few days later I brought the sleeping bag to the man. I wish I could have described the look on his face. Even though I had hinted I would bring one, he must have seen more than his share of disappointment in his life. His smile and surprised showed this small act of kindness meant a lot to him, even thought the gift was for someone else.

“I told my friend I might be able to get him a sleeping bag,” he beamed. I let him know it was courtesy of his local Cub Pack and that I hoped his friend would enjoy it.

A couple of weeks later, I found the man again in his usual place selling Outreach newspapers. He said hello and reached for a small note in his pocket. “This is from my friend,” he said. “Can you give it to the kids for me?” I opened the folded paper that read:

“To all the kids who gave me the sleeping bag, I want to thank you for your kindness. It will keep me warm these winter nights.”

I shared the note with the group at the next meeting. None of us had ever realized before how much happiness a small gesture could bring. A man we will probably never meet will have a better place to sleep, his friend is happy for him, but perhaps we were the happiest of all for knowing we could make a difference in a person’s life.

This experience has taught my group to be grateful for all they have, to treat others with compassion and how giving to warmth to others can be the best gift you give yourself.

- Anonymous

And to all of you south of the border, my best wishes for a safe and very Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

“F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. I think I’ve proven him wrong. And all because I refused to settle for a one-act existence, the 30 years I taught English in various New York City high schools.”

–Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis and donor of The Leonard Collection to the University of Limerick Library

McCourt also supports “the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Ireland who kept my family alive in Limerick. I’ve been a supporter for 20 years. I used to send them $50 when I was a teacher.”

It’s not once or twice I was humbled by witnessing true acts of charity originating from unexpected (may I say unexpected by our own self-righteous eyes) sources. To site just two examples;

1. I have this colleauge and friend who is an atheist and would never lose an opportunity to make fun of the very idea of God and his creations. He was brought up in an atheist (and communist) family and never had any formal training in our so-called moral studies etc. Yet I recently discovered that he has a registered charity trust in UK which funds three schools for poor children (who otherwise would not have the privilage of education). Another venture he supports is a firm which provides basic education to girl children of slums and the girls who work as maid servants in cities. Both in his home state in India in Andra Pradesh.
2. I have heard numerous stories about how hollow the christian faith in western countries have become and how the christianity here is reduced to namesake etc. The truth as I know it closer, is far from what I heard. I have had the privilage of being part of three parishes in England over past one year. Never have I seen a church on sundays which is not filled with people. And rarely have I seen a sunday without a second collection which invariably be associated to some charity or other. Mostly it will be in support of some charity activity in africa. The collection on each sunday builds up to a huge amount. Let me also add that the people here are not very rich. They only appear rich thanks to the employment and infrstructure facilities available. The saving potential of a UK citizen (in percentage terms of his earnings) is lesser than that of India. Still they give liberally to these causes.

Since when have we (not only us as a family, but christians in kerala in general) divested the responsibility of charity to somebody else?

Barring a very few exceptions, our institutions are concentrating rather on the more economically viable, prestigious and high society ventures these days. A deviation of sorts from the glorious historic contribution we gave India in the feild of education as a community. Opening an english medium school for the well-to-do children is neither social service nor charity but business. When so many are there without bread, we are concentrating on icing the cakes we already have.

It’s time to make a comeback to the true charisms. Let us all be more open to philanthropy in our own country. I hope our spiritual leadership will recognise this sooner too.

I read about this african expression of gratitude . When somebody receives a favor or act of kindness, they say  ”may someone do this to you as well”.  The simple yet beautiful philosophy they lived on. Very much christian in its spirit.

On judgement day, Jesus will not ask us about the type of cross we used in our altar, or which direction the priest was facing during the mass, or whether we followed Syro-malabar or Jacobite rite. His questions will be much more simple and direct.

He was hungry, he was naked, he was in excile…etc  and what did we do to him.

Matthew 25: 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

On my last trip to India, I accompanied Papa to calicut medicall college to visit somebody. Same day I learned about a program run by St Vincent De Paul society in medical college. For the past few years , vincent de paul society provides free lunch at medical college for all who needs food and cannot afford to buy. The food is funded, prepared and served by society members from different parishes in rota. You have to see the medical college to understand the maginitude of what they do and still how much more is needed. I felt proud that Papa was part of the society. It taught me to regard Vincent de paul society with much more respect.

I would love to see a charity trust or society built in the name of our kudumbayogam where in all can contribute to and do some meaningful philanthropic work in our country.

-Ginto