Outreach
St. Vincent de Paul Society
This conference, the first to be established in the city of San Francisco, reaches out to those suffering from homeless, poverty, substance abuse and domestic violence by providing for food, clothing and other needs. They organize parish food and clothing drives throughout the year and have regular monthly meetings. All kinds of volunteer opportunities are available,. Please email us or call Fr. John at (415) 288-3800 for more information.
Advent Giving Tree
With Advent comes our tradition of the Advent Giving Tree. We are once again serving a number of local organizations that support a broad range of people needing help this Christmas. Each December, the community of Old Saint Mary's + Chinese Mission delivers wrapped presents to San Francisco residents, mostly children and the elderly, through our Advent Giving Tree. For many this is the only gift they will receive. We need assistance to organize and purchase gifts with money received by friends and foundations, as well as to wrap and deliver gifts. Please (415) 288-3800 if you are interested in participating.
In the past, local agencies on our recipient list have included Raphael House, a shelter for homeless families; Leland House, one of Catholic Charities supportive housing agencies for people with AIDS; the Riley Center, which serves women and children trying to break the cycle of family violence; the OMI Senior Center and the SF Senior Center, Downtown which are Catholic charities adult day programs; the Asian Women’s Resource Center which shelters battered women and their children and offers child day care; and rain ponchos for the Living Room program at St. Anthony’s Foundation which serves low income and homeless seniors in the Downtown/ Tenderloin area.
Our International program again this year is Nothing but Nets which for a 10 dollar donation provides and distributes mosquito nets for people living in malarial areas of Africa, and a new addition, Solar Cooker Project. This provides simple cookers that utilize the sun to women fleeing genocide in Darfur. This allows the women to remain within the relative safety of the refugee camp by reducing their dependency on collecting firewood – which is when they are vulnerable to attack and rape. Just this small thing can improve life incredibly for people living in terrible conditions.
Tags on the tree ask for either a specific gift or a donation of cash or gift card. If you take a gift request please buy the requested toy or item and return it wrapped with the tag attached to the outside so we can identify the recipient.