World Day of the Poor

World Day of the Poor 2018.

World Day of the Poor 2018 is November 18.

Pope Francis states, “Let us love, not with words but with deeds.”

“The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.” (Psalms 34: 6)

On Sunday, November 18, we recognize the second annual World Day of the Poor.

For Vincentians, every day is a “day of the poor.”

SVdP Fond du Lac is dedicated to helping those in need in the community. You can help too. Click here for more information: https://svdpfdlc.org/community-services/volunteer-opportunities/

More About World Day of the Poor

“Psalm, 34 allows us today, surrounded as we are by many different forms of poverty, to know those who are truly poor. It enables us to open our eyes to them, to hear their cry and to recognize their needs.”(Pope Francis).

This day can be an opportunity to promote your Conference within your parish; a way to remind the pastor and parishioners about the people in poverty around us and the Society’s good works to help them.

It is a good time to remind your parish community that every day is a “Day of the Poor” with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, as Vincentians grow spiritually by putting their faith into action as they serve people in poverty.

The State of Poverty in the U.S.

  • According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 statistics, there are currently about 39.7 million people living in poverty in the U.S.
    – That is about 900,000 fewer than in 2016 and 3.4 million fewer than in 2015
  • The official poverty rate in 2017 was 12.3%
    – That is down by 0.4% from 2016
  • Half of the jobs in the country now pay less than $31,600 a year
    – One in nine U.S. workers are paid wages that can leave them below the poverty rate which is $25,094 for a family of four
  • Here in the U.S., nearly 40 million people are living in poverty … that is nearly one out of every eight Americans
  • 12.8 million American children are living in poverty, which is nearly 18% of American children
  • 8.8% of Americans (28.5 million) are medically uninsured
    – That is the lowest number of uninsured Americans since Census began keeping track in 1988
  • The state with the highest poverty rate is Mississippi with 22.3%
    – The two states with the next highest poverty rates are New Mexico at 20.9% and Louisiana at 19.7%

NEED HELP or ASSISTANCE?!

Call 920.922.3650

How the Society of St. Vincent de Paul helps

One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (www.svdpusa.org) is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of about 800,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 153 countries on five continents. With the U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., membership in the United States totals nearly 100,000 in 4,400 communities.

SVdP offers a variety of programs and services, including home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, education and mentoring, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, assistance with transportation, prescription medication, and rent and utility costs. The Society also works to provide care for the sick, the incarcerated and the elderly. In 2017, SVdP provided more than $3.4 billion in tangible and in-kind services to those in need, made more than 2.1 million personal visits/contacts (homes, hospitals, prisons and eldercare facilities) and helped more than 5.4 million people regardless of race, religion or national origin.

To find out more on how SVDP Fond du Lac is helping people in need, visit: https://svdpfdlc.org/community-services/

To help join the fight against poverty in the Fond du Lac area, please click here for more information: https://svdpfdlc.org/community-services/volunteer-opportunities/