We believe in the intrinsic value of every person—to serve and be served. You need not be of the Catholic faith to volunteer or to receive services. Join us in fostering the common ground of humanity to bring wholeness and healing for all.
Vincent's Legacy is a Tax-Exempt 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization
Vincent's Legacy
Furniture Outreach Conference
A Special Works Conference within the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Trenton Diocesan Council
"Helping to Turn Our Neighbor's House into a Home"
Now in Our 14th Year Currently
Serving Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey
Many hands make light work....
St. Vincent de Paul once said: “The poor suffer less from a lack of generosity than from a lack of organization.” Vincent’s Legacy Furniture Outreach has worked hard to organize itself so that it operates efficiently and uses its volunteers effectively. We have listed 4 key areas in need of volunteers. Please contact the team captain in your area of interest to learn how you can get involved based on your availability.
WAREHOUSE:
VP Operations: Rich Uhlemeyer (uhlemr@gmail.com)
Inventory Cataloguers: Measure, tag, and photograph new items to be uploaded into warehouse inventory database.
Furniture Maintenance: Clean furniture prior to delivery: vacuum upholstered pieces; dust furniture, etc. and fix minor scratches.
Furniture Repair: Fix broken pieces damaged during pickups
Saturday Movers (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.): Drivers and able-bodied persons to load/unload truck with furniture and home goods.
Weekday Movers (8 a.m. - 12 p.m.): Drivers and able-bodied persons to pick up donations and load/unload truck.
DONATIONS:
VP Acquisitions: Susan Fernandez (ssvjt@optonline.net)
Intake Screener: Respond by phone/email to potential donors to ensure donations come from non-smoking, pet-free homes. We do not accept pieces that are stained, torn, or more than 15 years old (unless in exceptional condition). Our motto is: "If we wouldn’t put this piece in our own homes, we don’t give it away to a family in need."
Schedule Donation Assessors to visit home to assure quality of donations.
Donation Assessors: Visit donor homes to visually assess quality and usefulness of donations. If acceptable, contact Delivery Team Scheduler to arrange for pickup.
FURNITURE REQUESTS:
Home Assessor Coordinator: Carleen Defino (cddefino@aol.com)
Intake Screeners: Work with local SVdP conferences who have pre-screened our neighbors in need to uncover preliminary needs. Train/work with SVdP conference home visitor to assess neighbor's home for furniture and household needs. (HGTV home designer/decorator wannabe's welcomed!)
Small Donation Processors: Open donated boxes of household items and sort to shelve at warehouse.
Delivery Coordinators: Gather household items requested for family delivery.
FUNDRAISING/PUBLICITY
President: Margaret More (mmore01@aol.com)
Grant Writer: Identify and prepare grants to support ministry.
Special Events Planner: Conceive of and organize fundraising events.
Media Coordinator: Maintain social media presence. Design strategies to promote Vincent's Legacy to local conferences, media outlets and the community.
As you can see, most of our volunteer opportunities do not involve heavy lifting and involve only a few, very flexible hours a month. Following the successful Vincentian hot-line model, our goal is to have multiple people committed to each specific task in order to coordinate volunteer hours and enable everyone to experience this joyful ministry in a manageable way. No matter which area you choose or how much time you have to offer, you will join an established team and be trained. Please contact the Team Captain.
We are so grateful to your commitment in this ministry and look forward to working with you. Please feel free to invite anyone who may be interested in joining us. They do NOT need to be a member of SVdP to volunteer.
