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This year marks the 75th anniversary of SVdP Indy’s founding. We thought the best way to celebrate is to honor the work many have selflessly done since 1946. Here are 75 ideas for you and your family to help us mark the legacy of St. Vincent de Paul and the work that continues today in his name.

  1. Sign up online to volunteer.
  2. Join the planning committee for our annual 5K that is held each April.
  3. Share your special skills—photography, accounting, hospitality, etc.—to help support our mission.
  4. Become a Trusted Mentor to walk alongside those working to change their lives.
  5. Set a volunteer goal of 75 hours over the next year at our Food Pantry or Distribution Center.
  6. Answer our helpline. Bonus: You can do this from your home!
  7. Help with landscaping and clean-up around the Food Pantry, Distribution Center or Mission 27 stores.
  8. Be a volunteer barista at Holy Grounds Cafe at our Mission 27 Resale Store on Shelby Street.
  9. Organize a group to volunteer from your church, organization, company or family/friends. Tip: Regular shifts help build community through repeated service.
  10. Deliver food to shut-ins on Wednesdays.
  11. Pack food bags for our home delivery service.
  12. Become part of our Changing Lives Forever Program as a facilitator or helper.
  13. Sort donations at the Distribution Center.
  14. Pack food boxes, repackage produce and meat, etc. at the 30th Street Food Pantry.
  15. Restock or assist neighbors at our Boulevard Place Food Pantry.
  16. Help unload donations at our Distribution Center loading dock.
  17. Share your eBay expertise helping us manage and market our eBay store!
  18. Stock shelves at your favorite Mission 27 store!
  19. Become a home visitor for your conference.
  20. Help us collect and confirm data as we build a more robust data tracking system. (Salesforce experience a huge plus!)
  21. Drive one of our trucks to pick up furniture and household items.
  22. Teach a trade skill to our Changing Lives Forever participants.
  23. Follow us on Facebook to keep up-to-date on events and share your experiences.
  24. Connect SVdP with businesses or organizations to start partnerships in the community.
  25. Submit a memory or special sentiment to help SVdP celebrate 75 years of Loving Our Neighbors at communications@svdpindy.org.
  26. Join your parish SVdP Conference and become a Vincentian.
  27. Attend an Ozanam Training and understand what it means to be an SVdP volunteer.
  28. Find out how to help us develop new conferences.
  29. Shop at Mission 27 Resale—and tell all of your friends: “I got it at the Mish!”
  30. Subscribe to our newsletter.
  31. Join our Beggars for the Poor ministry at Roberts Park Methodist Church (401 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis) on Saturday mornings to serve meals to our homeless neighbors.
  32. Donate online to help support our programs.
  33. Ask for donations for SVdP Indy in lieu of birthday gifts.
  34. Participate in our Virtual Food Drive to stock the food pantry with nutritious food.
  35. Donate clothing and household items to the Distribution Center.
  36. Drop your gently used clothing, shoes, and linens in one of the blue bins located in the parking lot at most central Indiana Catholic churches and high schools after Mass each week.
  37. Call our donation line at 317-687-1006 and schedule a pick-up of your usable major appliances and  furniture.
  38. Visit SVdP Indy’s Amazon Wish List to purchase items we will distribute to families in need.
  39. Use Amazon Smile in support of SVdP Indy when you shop online!
  40. Donate tickets, airline miles, gift cards or other items to be auctioned in our annual Struttin’ Our Stuff fundraiser on Sept. 10, 2021.
  41. Collect personal size shampoo, toothbrushes and other hygiene items for us to distribute to the people suffering homelessness.
  42. Organize a food drive at your school or office.
  43. Make a gift to our Changing Lives Forever program to help cover child care and transportation needs.
  44. Donate plastic bags to the Food Pantry.
  45. Donate a used bicycle to give transportation to those in need.
  46. Donate an old car to SVdP’s vehicle donation program for a charitable deduction.
  47. Collect gift cards to donate to those in need.
  48. Voice your desire to include SVdP in your estate plans.
  49. Host a fundraiser and share the proceeds with SVdP.
  50. Give mutual funds or other investments to SVdP by contacting Wendy Harlow, Philanthropy Director, at weharlow@svdpindy.org.
  51. Participate or sponsor others in our Love Your Neighbor 5K Run/Walk on April 23, 2022.
  52. Participate in the Struttin’ Our Stuff auction on Sept. 10, 2021.
  53. Volunteer to wear the banana costume at our next Love Your Neighbor 5K Run/Walk!
  54. Apply to attend a Changing Lives Forever Program and learn how to break the cycle of generational poverty.
  55. Hit the runway at the Struttin’ Our Stuff fundraiser every September.
  56. Join the team at our Mission 27 stores and be a part of #indysfavoritethriftshop!
  57. Join us at the 1618 Shelby Street store for First Fridays all summer long!
  58. Say a prayer for those in need in our community.
  59. Pray for SVdP Indy and all of our faithful conferences.
  60. Pray for those suffering homelessness in our community.
  61. Pray for those who work for peace and justice.
  62. Share your prayer with us on social media with the hashtag #svdpstrong.
  63. Send a note of encouragement to one of our clients.
  64. Learn more about SVdP’s history and mission by visiting svdpindy.org.
  65. Grow a garden and share with a local pantry.
  66. Reach out to an elderly neighbor.
  67. Sponsor a family in need.
  68. Mentor a child.
  69. Mentor an adult graduate from our Changing Lives Forever program.
  70. Become a facilitator for one of our Changing Lives Forever classes.
  71. Share the Community Compass app with a neighbor.
  72. Contact your local representative to support legislation that will reduce poverty and injustice in our community.
  73. Join the board of a local non-profit.
  74. Learn to be a voice for the poor.
  75. Examine your heart for how you can promote unity, support and an end to the racial divide, especially as it pertains to the issue of homelessness.