June Huot: St. Vincent de Paul Society is more than a thrift store

To The Daily Sun,

As a volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul, I would like to thank The Daily Sun, The Sunshine Project, and especially Roberta Baker for including us in her article on local thrift stores. We have received very positive feedback, both from our customers and volunteers and added several new volunteers.

If I may, I’d like to clarify the programs that we fund. We are an all-volunteer organization. In addition to the food pantry, we fund our two other programs, The Children’s Foundation and our financial assistance program.

The Children’s Foundation provides assistance for various needs of children living in the Lakes Region. These include childcare, before and afterschool care, medical and personal hygiene, summer camp scholarships, scholarships and extracurricular activities. Two main activities are Project Pencil and the Christmas Angel Program.

Financial assistance supplements existing welfare programs by providing assistance for back rent and mortgage, overdue utility payments, auto repair, dental health and sober living for those in need. This assistance is offered by teams of volunteers with the emphasis on finding solutions.

I’d like to add that our thrift store donates thousands of dollars of merchandise each year to those in need.

Again, many thanks to The Daily Sun and to our customers and patrons that support us.

June Huot

Laconia