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The holidays are approaching, and we are gearing up to help make the season as bright as possible for our community. By supporting us in any of the following ways, you too will help make someone's holiday merry. 1. Book Champions Catering for your holiday party. Champions Catering can collaborate with you to create a seasonal, festive menu for your holiday party for your coworkers, family, parish or friends. Their delicious desserts and satisfying entrees can satisfy any guest. To contact Champions Catering, visit svdp-alameda.org/catering, email [email protected], or call 1-510-681-3301. All proceeds from the catering program are used to fund the job training programs here at SVdP along with the other services we provide to those in need. 2. Donate warm coats to our One Warm Coat Drive. 3. Attend our Fall Fundraising Breakfast. Save the Date for our Fall Fundraising Breakfast on Friday, November 22 from 7:30-9:00 a.m. at Transfiguration Catholic Church – 4000 E. Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94552. We welcome all community members, Vincentians, and friends to join us for a morning of delicious food, fellowship and first-hand accounts of the impact SVdP has on our community. To RSVP and reserve a table, contact John Sterns, community engagement manager at [email protected], or call 925-323-5848. 4. Volunteer at Thanksgiving, Christmas and our Christmas Open House! Each year, our dining room is filled with cheery volunteers celebrating the season with our guests. You can also participate in our shelter in the evenings by planning a holiday activity, caroling, game night, or anything festive to bring a bright spot to our guests. To learn more about volunteering, please contact the Volunteer Team at [email protected] or 510-877-9252.
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 For those who are conscious of the homelessness crisis throughout California, add this article to your reading list. Homelessness is a public health issue and a disaster for humankind. There are many factors that contribute to the constant increase in homeless California residents. Here is an inside look into one of them, via Forbes magazine.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2019/09/12/why-california-keeps-making-homelessness-worse/#34579b175a61 We hosted our annual back-to-school open house on Saturday August 10 at our West Oakland campus. In addition to receiving backpacks and school supplies, 202 children and 74 families enjoyed crafts provided by Pledge to Humanity from San Ramon Valley High School, books (in English and Spanish) curated by volunteers in our Fremont thrift store, a special meal of homemade pizza and family portraits that were especially popular.
Special thanks to Claire O'Reilly, our lead event volunteer, and volunteers and staff in our community center and women's and children's center. We also want to thank the conferences and volunteer groups who donated to the event, including St. Augustine, St. Raymond, St. Philip Neri/St. Albert the Great, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Patrick, Ladies of Peter Claver and All Saints. We are happy to play a role in sending students off to school prepared and encouraged to do their best! This Saturday, July 20, we hosted our first ever Catering of Champions Fundraiser. Thank you to everyone involved—from buying a ticket, volunteering, preparing the food, setting up the space, donating, cleaning up afterwards—every person made a positive impact on our newest social enterprise! We were happy to see the SVdP community come together in support for the program.
The food received amazing feedback from guests, and Chef Javier even shared his “mother of all recipes” for arroz con leche. We look forward to the next fundraiser! To order from Catering of Champions for your next event, visit our website, email [email protected], or call 510-681-3301.  St. Vincent de Paul’s newest enterprise, Catering of Champions, began on June 4. The idea was brought to us by longtime volunteer, Javier Silvares. “I remember seeing the happiness in the Kitchen of Champions students’ faces while they were in the program learning so much and I thought I could do even more for them,” he said. “I decided to do a step more than me just volunteering. This is really my home. It’s the life I choose and the life I want to live.” The program’s first fundraiser will be held on July 20.
The Catering of Champions staff will include Silvares, one part-time cook and an administrative aid to handle booking and advertising. Silvares has planned a menu including Spanish dishes from his home country. He cooked for 128 people at the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon in April, and received a lot of positive feedback about the flavorful meal. Silvares has two goals for the program: first, to provide stable employment and continuation of culinary education for graduates of Kitchen of Champions, and second, to earn money for St. Vincent de Paul. “We are really life-changers here. People want to do better and change and we accompany them on that journey,” Silvares said.  Sylvester, also known as Langston, is a regular guest of St. Vincent de Paul who can be found eating in the dining room. He is a former guest of our shelter. He always said, “If you don’t see me, it’s because I found housing.” We are happy to say he has found housing through Veterans’ support and we hope to still see Sylvester and his smile come by our West Oakland direct service campus!
“I always came to St. Vincent between November and April and I would sleep underneath the cross. But in April the shelter would close, and I would need to sleep under a bus stop. It was hard. A man tried to attack me there. Now the shelter is open year–round and what a blessing that is. Now if you need a place to lay your head you know you can count on St. Vincent. I am a Vietnam veteran. I served three tours of duty. “But now I have just gotten a place for homeless vets with medical problems and I can stay for two years! I have a spot on my liver that keeps growing and I just had extensive surgery on my kidneys. They help you with everything. They also help you get transitional housing. “When my granddaughter got killed in a car accident, I was in a grieving period for over a year and the Veterans helped me and St. Vincent helped me. It was a very difficult time. It almost killed me. I needed a place to lay my head and St. Vincent was here. Now I attend groups at the behavioral center to get my mind right. I am very grateful to St. Vincent de Paul.” On Saturday, April 13, we hosted our annual Easter Open House for 54 families and 187 children. With the help of 16 volunteers, including photographer Sacha and a group from Pledge to Humanity at San Ramon Valley High School, we were able to give every family a Safeway gift card, Easter baskets, photos with the Easter bunny, free books and Easter themed crafts. A special pizza lunch was made by our kitchen staff and Kitchen of Champions cohort. Our open house events are a great way to celebrate important moments of the year and bring our community together for a bright spot in our lives. Thank you to all who continue to support the open house events. Our next open house will be celebrating back to school in August. If you would like to sign up to volunteer or donate, please contact our volunteer team at [email protected]. The Very Reverend James Vernon Matthews, Jr., rector of the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, passed away on March 30, 2019. He was ordained on May 3, 1974 and became the first African-American priest in Northern California. He cited his “unique” experience as a black Catholic priest as an impetus to bring communities together, which was a focus of his work. He was a key leader throughout the Diocese of Oakland and served as chaplain to the Oakland police and fire departments and as vicar and spiritual director of Black Catholics. He was the Parochial Administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Oakland, and the former pastor of St. Benedict, where he served for 25 years. He worked closely with the City of Oakland and in the interfaith community with the goal of unifying communities. St. Vincent de Paul would like to offer deep condolences for all who knew and looked up to Fr. Jay. We pray for his soul to see God, for his surviving loved ones and for the Christ the Light Conference members, who are mourning his loss. We are inspired by great people like Fr. Jay. May he rest in peace.   The Bay Area Council Economic Institute, a key local think tank, released a new study on homelessness in the Bay Area, and, at Mayor Schaaf’s suggestion, they wanted the study to be rolled out to the press and the community at St. Vincent de Paul. Executive Director Blase Bova was invited to participate in the roundtable discussion, along with some noted civic and corporate leaders including President and CEO of Kaiser Permanente Bernard Tyson and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. Participants discussed the need for a regional plan to address homelessness, as well as unity amongst the entire Bay Area, including the Sacramento area, to support each other’s efforts in housing the unhoused. The Bay Area has the third highest homeless population in the country with over 28,000 homeless residents, behind New York City and Los Angeles. The report says part of the problem is low income people are becoming homeless at a faster rate than communities can move existing homeless people into housing. “We can subsidize rents when they fall on hard times, we can purchase buildings and turn market rate housing into affordable housing, we can provide rental assistance, so they don't have to choose between medical payments and rent payments,” said Jim Wunderman with the Bay Area Council. St. Vincent de Paul thanks the work of our Vincentians across the county through their eviction prevention work. You are addressing a crucial aspect of the homeless crisis that needs more widespread support, and the Bay Area Council agrees.    Last fall, dining room volunteer Giorgio Tavecchio returned to our dining room in Oakland before he was brought on as kicker for the Atlanta Falcons. Tavecchio is a Bay Area native who played football at UC Berkeley and even played professionally for the Oakland Raiders. He began volunteering at SVdP because he was influenced by his father.
After leaving to play for the Falcons, he stayed in contact with us, sending well wishes to staff and volunteers. It was a great surprise to see him return to serve in the dining room on March 7. Tavecchio and our custodian Joseph (pictured) became fast friends, and were happy to see each other again. He even left a signed Falcons hat for Joseph to wear. We are so happy he kept us in mind, and was called to serve during this trip home. “I am in town visiting family, so I had to come back home to St. Vincent,” Tavecchio said. He has signed a two–year contract with the Falcons, and plans to volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul in Atlanta. We wish Giorgio the best of luck, and hope to see him again in Oakland soon! |
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