The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP) is a group of volunteers who coordinate your generous food and/or money donations to provide food hampers to those in need in the Penticton community. The Penticton Conference of SSVP is a member of the Society of St Vincent De Paul Okanagan Valley Particular Council which operates under Society of Saint Vincent de Paul National Council of Canada.
We operate out of the basement of St. Ann’s Catholic Church and are grateful for the support we receive from the Catholic Parishes of Penticton, its parishioners, and from the community of Penticton.
Brief History
Founded in Paris in 1833 by Frédéric Ozanam and his friends, the SSVP is a worldwide organization of lay Christians. A Catholic society, it is open to all those who desire to do good work in love and service of their neighbour.
Under the patronage of Saint Vincent de Paul, the organization draws its inspiration from his thoughts and his works. Members strive, in a spirit of justice, charity, mutual help, solidarity with the poor, and through personal commitment, to ease the hardships of those who suffer.
For more information on our organization’s history, founder, and patron saint, please visit our Nation Council’s website.
Works of SSVP in Canada
This video was produced by our National Council. It highlights the many works of help provided by the various conferences around Canada. Although assistance takes many forms across the country, the Penticton conference has chosen to focus primarily on food insecurity issues in our community.
Our Local Penticton Conference
Our local St Ann Conference in Penticton deals primarily with food hampers (delivered Mon, Wed and Saturday) as well as client assistance such as rent/utilities or other appropriate necessities when our finances permit. Our volunteers are visible in the hamper room in the basement of St Ann’s Church, mostly putting together food hampers for the several who hand deliver food to clients’ homes. We have volunteers working behind the scenes ordering, purchasing and stocking our shelves, responding to client calls and all the administrative work that goes into running the Society. Our biggest event is our annual Christmas Hamper Program.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul in Penticton:
- Purchases all the food required at retail (other than donated food from food drives or other such food donations)
- Spends between $60 – $120 per hamper
- Spends on average $150,000 per year on food purchases
- Spends on average $35,000 – $45,000 per year supplying Christmas Hampers
- Receives almost all of its operating funds through local donations from residents, businesses, and service organizations
- Is one of the largest food banks in Penticton, B.C.
- Typically delivers around 130 food hampers every month
- Helps approximately 350 families celebrate in the Christmas season every year with hand delivered hampers with food and gifts