The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference in Merrill is pleased to announce that Joe and Lisa Breaman of Breaman Merrill Ford, Inc. and their family, have agreed to donate up to $25,000 to St. Vincent’s in a Matching Fund Campaign. We respectfully request your assistance to make this campaign, which ends December 31st, a great success. This will help us meet the increasing demand for services in the Merrill community and surrounding areas.
Our Outreach program provided over $93,000 in assistance to 358 households in our community during the past year. This included gas money for transportation to work and medical appointments, child care supplies including diapers and formula, rent assistance, emergency lodging for homeless when other facilities were not available, heating bill assistance and many other financial emergency expenses. In addition, several thousand dollars’ worth of clothing, shoes, furniture and other necessary items from the Thrift Store were donated to those in need.
The number of requests for assistance has begun to increase dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the third week of October alone, the Outreach program provided a total of $1944 in emergency assistance. We anticipate requests will increase even more when deferred utility, rent and other bills come due while unemployment and decreased work hours continue to be a major problem. Our current sources of income, including a grant from the United Way, will not be sufficient to meet the need.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference is supported by a network of highly dedicated volunteers. As a result of their efforts we have been able to re-open the Thrift Store on a monthly basis. Profits from this endeavor are used to support our charitable activities but will not be enough to meet the growing demands for assistance. As a result, we have been searching for additional ways to supplement our resources. The generosity of the Breaman Family and your donation will help us to meet those needs.
We are reaching out to the community to make this Matching Fund Campaign a success. We ask that you consider a donation, knowing that it will be doubled in value to benefit those in need. You can return your donation to: Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 503 S. Center Avenue, Suite 2, Merrill, WI 54452. Please feel free to contact us at 715-539-2666 if you would like more information about our organization. Thank you for helping us help others!
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference Members: Dick Duginski, President; Freida Swanson, Vice-President; Lisa Carlson, Treasurer; Sr. Linda Songy, Spiritual Director; Jim Rell, Judy Warren, Joe Breaman, Tom Mueller, Chris Malm and Sue Norenberg