Society of St. Vincent de Paul - Southwest Texas

Who We Are

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Southwest Texas is a Catholic lay organization dedicated to serving neighbors experiencing poverty and hardship throughout our 19-county service area.

Through a network of parish-based Conferences, our Vincentian volunteers provide person-to-person assistance with food, rent, utilities, and other essential needs. But our mission goes beyond meeting an immediate need. Vincentians listen, pray, offer compassion, and walk alongside our neighbors during some of life's most difficult moments.

Guided by our belief that “no work of charity is foreign to the Society,” we serve every neighbor with dignity, compassion, and hope.

This Big Give, we want to show you what that mission looks like through the eyes of someone who lives it every week.

WHY WE SERVE.

Meet Vincentian Edna Amecucci

At 90 years old, Edna Amecucci still has somewhere to be every Monday.

For the past 16 years, Edna has spent her Mondays serving with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Pius X. For Edna, it's about more than volunteering.

“It gives me a purpose.”

Edna became a Vincentian in 2010 after a neighbor invited her to get involved. Sixteen years later, she is still there — listening, helping, and welcoming neighbors who come through the doors in need of assistance.

She believes that needing help should never cause someone to be looked down upon.

“They're the same as you,” Edna said.

And sometimes, helping starts simply by listening.

“If someone wants to talk, we'll listen. You need to be a listener, a helper and a confidant.”

The neighbors Edna meets stay with her even after Monday is over. She keeps them on her prayer list and returns the next week ready to serve again.

When Edna described what serving means to her, she put it simply:

“I get a feeling that I'm not useless in the world when I can help here.”

At 90, Monday is still Edna's day.

She shows up. She listens. She serves.

This is why we serve.

WHY IT MATTERS.

Across Southwest Texas, Vincentians like Edna are there when a neighbor doesn't know where else to turn.

They help put food on the table. They help keep the lights on. They help families facing rent they cannot afford or an unexpected crisis that has turned their lives upside down.

But just as Edna's story shows, the work goes beyond the assistance itself.

It means listening. It means treating every person with dignity. It means reminding a neighbor that they are not alone.

This Big Give, our goal is to raise $15,000 so our Vincentians can continue showing up for neighbors throughout Southwest Texas.

Will you help us keep showing up?