For at least 20 years, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Brown County has been giving presents and other goods to families in need for Christmas.
Last year, the program served 114 parents and 49 grandparents who picked out books, gifts, hats and gloves, toiletry items and backpacks for 419 Brown County children.
All year long, volunteers are looking for bargains, sorting through donations and maintaining records to make sure their inventory has enough to distribute to each age and gender, according to Shirley Boardman with St. Vincent de Paul.
St. Vincent de Paul doesn’t organize this all on their own. St. Barnabas School in Greenwood, the Caring Center in Lebanon and local churches also contribute. Boardman said that the Family Dollar store often reaches out to help discover items there. Managers of other local stores also ask for donations from customers or watch for discounted items and send an alert to St. Vincent de Paul.
Local knitters Nita Lavengood and Rita Simon make hand-knitted gifts “in great abundance,” Boardman said.
“We are so fortunate,” she said.
Throughout December, parents and guardians had the opportunity to stop by the distribution center on Long Lake Road to pick up gifts and food. Families also were able to pick up a Thanksgiving turkey in November.
From Oct. 1 2017, to Sept. 2018, volunteers logged more than 8,000 hours getting food, serving families, maintaining records and managing donated items including clothing and furniture. This translates to more $125,000 of labor, according to St. Vincent de Paul’s fiscal year highlights.
During that time, 456 Brown County families received assistance, including 606 children.
Local churches donate food items each month: Becks Grove Christian Church, Christiansburg United Methodist Church, Church of the Lakes, Nashville Christian Church, Nashville United Methodist Church, St. Agnes Catholic Church and St. David’s Episcopal Church.
This year, St. Vincent de Paul celebrated 30 years of service.
Boardman said people can donate Christmas decorations after this season which they will store for next year. “Families never get enough (Christmas decorations),” Boardman said.
Jeans for boys and men are also always in short supply. Gifts for older teens, along with gloves and mittens, are also needed items for Christmas next year.
Donations can be dropped off during food distribution hours from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and Mondays. St. Vincent de Paul will reopen on Jan. 5.
During their fiscal year, St. Vincent de Paul had almost $70,000 in revenue from donations, fundraisers and grants. Expenses totaled $66,967, meaning $2,038 had to taken from their savings, the fiscal year highlight report states. One of those expenses was installing a bathroom and running water in the distribution center, which cost almost $15,000.
St. Vincent de Paul is at 2901 Long Lake Road. Anyone who has questions or wishes to donate can call 812-988-8821.
