The Penticton Conference of St. Vincent de Paul is run entirely by our dedicated members. Membership is open to all who commit to the Mission of the Society and its Values, and are interested in developing their spiritual life. There is no membership fee. If you are interested in becoming a member and serving our great community of Penticton then please call Jerry Imhoff @ 250-488-8575.
Here are samples of some of the ways our members serve:
Hamper Preparation
We prepare hampers for our clients on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. This work takes place in the SSVP Hamper room located in the basement of St. Ann’s Catholic Church. This typically takes 1-2 hours on each of those days.
Hamper Deliveries
We deliver hampers to our clients on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings. Volunteers needs to supply their own vehicle with sufficient capacity to hold the deliveries (a pickup or SUV). This typically takes 1-2 hours on each of those days.
Ordering & Picking Up Groceries
Every week we place orders for the groceries necessary to fill our clients’ food hampers. Ordering is primarily done online early in the week and takes less than half an hour. Picking up the order is done later in the week and it delivered to the hamper room. This typically takes an hour or so.
Farmer’s Market Pickup
During the summer months when the Penticton Farmer’s Market is operating on Saturdays, our members visit the fresh produce suppliers just before closing time (around 1pm) and ask for donations that they can spare from produce that they didn’t sell. SSVP supplies the carts and containers, but someone on the volunteer team needs to have a vehicle large enough to transport everything, typically a pickup truck or large SUV. This typically takes 1-2 hours early on a Saturday afternoon.
Client Phoning
Our clients request hampers by leaving a message on our hamper phone line. Our phoning team is responsible for calling these clients back and and getting the necessary information to create their hamper and deliver it. This typically takes 1 hour each day.
Hamper Room and Inventory Management
The food that is donated and purchased is stored in various cupboards, shelves, refrigerators, and freezers in the basement of St. Ann’s church. Each week, some inventory needs to be moved into the hamper room so that hamper preparation team can do their work. This task does require that the person is able to move and carry cases of food short distances. This typically takes 1-2 hours per week.
Bottle Donation Packaging and Redemption
We encourage our members and others in the community to donate their empty, refundable bottle & containers to SSVP. Unfortunately, the bottle return depot is extremely fussy about the contents of the bags containing the bottles. Thus, we must review all donations for compliance with their regulations or risk them shutting down our account. After the donated bags have been reviewed and prepared then they are taken to the depot. This typically takes 1-2 hours per week.
When you see this icon
It means that the volunteer activity requires our Safe Environment Training and a Criminal Record Check.
This is a requirement as the activity may interact with people who may be in vulnerable situations. The Safe Environment Training is typically done in St. Ann’s Hall beneath the church, takes about an hour, and can be arranged at a time suitable for you. The Criminal Record Check is done online and takes only a few minutes to apply.