The St. Martin District of the St. Vincent de Paul Society

The St. Vincent de Paul Society is a global organization dedicated to helping our neighbors in need.  We provide help in the form of food, clothing, and housing. 

History…

St. Vincent de Paul was born in France in 1581 and lived in Paris most of his life.  He helped lead a reformation of the clergy in his diocese.  In 1625 he founded the Congregation of the Mission.  He went on to establish the Conference of Charities, a group that fed and nursed the sick poor in and around Paris.  He died in 1660 and was canonized in 1737.

Frederick Ozanam was born in 1813 in Milan, and was raised in Lyon, France.  In May of 1833 he, together with a group of young men, founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.  By the time of his death at age 40 there were over 2,000 conferences dedicated to helping the poor and sick.  A recent quote from ssvpglobal.org:  These days, the SSVP is present in 153 countries, has 800,000 members in 48,000 Conferences, and 1.5 million volunteers and collaborators. Every day, it helps over 30 million people the world over.

Our Council…

The St. Martin District Council, Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Inc. is one of the five District Councils reporting to the Cincinnati Archdiocesan Central Council of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP). Our District Council has served the needs of the poor in this area continually since its aggregation into the International Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1964. Some of our member Conferences existed before the Council was aggregated. Our oldest Conference, based at St. Louis Parish in Owensville, OH, was started in 1952.  The Council was incorporated as an Ohio 501 (c) (3) nonprofit in 1991. St. Martin District Council, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Inc. and all of its member Conferences are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations registered in the State of Ohio. All donations to our Council and its Conferences are fully tax deductible.

We are comprised of 21 Parish Conferences located in the southwest Ohio counties of Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Highland and Warren. As such, it encompasses the largest geographical region of any SVDP District in the Cincinnati Archdiocese, including some of Ohio’s poorest economic Appalachian areas.

Despite the challenges of distance between Conferences and of increasing caseloads, St. Martin District Council has achieved, as of fiscal year 2022 (ending 30 September 2022), an active membership of over 375 Active and Associate volunteers who gave more than 30,350 free service hours to their communities. This includes more than 12,800 home visits and helping more than 42,367 of our neighbors in the area we serve.

The Council and its affiliated Conferences are funded 100 percent by donations. Our average contributions are nearly $30,000 per parish for a total of $625,000. We also distribute an additional estimated $600,000 worth of in-kind donations such as food, clothing, furniture, household items, and medical equipment.  St. Martin District Council is an all-volunteer charity with no paid employees, and no permanent building facilities. Our operational expenses are less than 3.6% of income. Most of our operational expenses are used to support a cargo van, including necessary insurance, as well as for insurance on storage spaces that are used for clothing, furniture, household items, food pantries, and hot meal food kitchens. With the permission and cooperation of our local parishes, we primarily utilize parish facilities at no cost, other than providing adequate insurance, in order to further reduce our operational expenses.

Funding…

This support is tremendous, but the need is always greater than our available funds. The vast majority of funds that are donated to our Council and its Conferences are expended for purchasing food and paying utility, rent, fuel, and medical bills. We also pay critical bills and other expenses for neighbors who need our help.

St. Martin District Council is an all-volunteer charity with no paid employees, and no permanent building facilities. Our operational expenses are less than 3.6% of income. Most of our operational expenses are used to support a cargo van, including necessary insurance, as well as for insurance on storage spaces that are used for clothing, furniture, household items, food pantries, and hot meal food kitchens. With the permission and cooperation of our local parishes, we primarily utilize parish facilities at no cost, other than providing adequate insurance, in order to further reduce our operational expenses.

Lacking a large urban center and commensurate local corporate sponsors for support, the St. Martin District Council falls short in raising the resources needed to support all the requests for help from its member Conferences. This is especially true in trying to accommodate the needs of the eastern-most conferences in Adams and Brown counties. Thus, a revenue generating charity event, the St. Martins District Council’s “Dare to Care Dash” 5K run and health walk was started in 1992 (formerly known as the Run for the Poor) to help provide for some of these shortfalls. The charity run has the full approval of Miami Township Trustees and Safety Officials (Clermont County, Ohio). All proceeds from the Dare to Care Dash go directly into a Grant Fund that is used by our member Conferences specifically for needy applicants to St Vincent de Paul.

Another important source of revenue for the district is provided by a vehicle donation program that is administered by the National Council. Cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles and other vehicles can be donated through this program by calling 800-322-8284. The St Martin District Council of SVDP receives the proceeds of all vehicles donated from zip codes that are within the geographic area of our District.

Our Council was incorporated as an Ohio 501 (c) (3) nonprofit in 1991. St. Martin District Council, Society of St. Vincent Dc Paul, Inc. and all of its member Conferences are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations registered in the State of Ohio. All donations to our Council and its Conferences are fully tax deductible.

Click Here to view the list of our conferences.