More than 250 volunteers, SVDP staff, and clients in our homeless shelter, women’s recovery center and housing programs pulled together for a one-day blitz to build SVDP’s new community playground. Thanks to all, especially Dr Pepper Snapple Group, KaBOOM! and the Kroger Co. See photos.
Archives for 2013
Save the Date! Golf Scramble Sept. 8-9
Plans are being finalized for St. Vincent de Paul’s sole fundraiser of the year. Our exciting Charity Golf Scramble and Auction event will take place Sunday, Sept. 8 and Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. The fundraiser kicks off on Sunday evening with dinner, cocktails, and a silent and live auction event at Porcini, 2730 Frankfort Ave….
Kids Imagine Perfect Playground: Build Day is May 31st
Robert, 6, drew monkey bars and a colorful slide. Danae,11, drew swings and a climbing wall. A clubhouse and even a swimming pool were among the pictures created when children who live at SVDP were invited to a special Design Day event in our Open Hand Kitchen. Brenna Hull, KaBOOM!’s project coordinatorfor SVDP’s playground, encouraged…
May 2013 Good Samaritan
May_2013_Good_Sam.pdf
Kids at St. Vincent de Paul Design Playground
The Record
April 18, 2013
The playground will be instaled May 31 on the campus of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
By Jessica Able
Record Staff Writer
Few things bring a brighter smile to a child’s face than a playground full of swings, slides, and monkey bars.But kids who live on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul campus and in the surrounding Smoketown neighborhood do not have easy access to a playground.Now, thanks to the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization that helps communities build playgrounds, children in this area will have a brand-new place to play this summer. And it will be a playground they helped to design.
The project is part of the Let’s Play initiative, a partnership led by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, to motivate children and their families to get active, said Randy Bright, market manager for the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has pledged a three-year, $15 million commitment to KaBOOM! to build or renovate 2,000 playgrounds in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.Representatives from KaBOOM! contacted the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in early March about constructing a new playground on the campus, said Nancy Naughton, associate executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Bright said that while this is the fifth playground project he has been a part of the excitement of the children never gets old.” Just coming down here and seeing the kids’ faces and the parent involvement. What they are willing to commit is amazing,” he said.
An integral part of the process is getting the kids involved, said Brenna Hull, the project manager for KaBOOM! Children who are residents of the apartments on the St. Vincent de Paul campus were invited to a design meeting April 2 at the society’s Open Hand Kitchen, 1026 S. Jackson St. “We want you to be involved every step of the way,” Hull told the children at the design meeting.Hull asked the children present why a playground is important.
One responded “So we aren’t bored.” Another said, “To get exercise.” And a third child simply said, “To have fun.”Using crayons and markers, about 15 youngsters drew their dream playgrounds on large sheets of paper. Some drew trampolines, rock-climbing walls and swimming pools. Others colored swing sets, spiral slides,
and four-square courts.
Kids Choose Playground Design
Our kids voted, and here is winning Playground Design! Thanks to KaBOOM! and to The Dr Pepper Snapple Group for making this brand-new community playground for at-risk children possible. Want to help? Join us on Build Day: Friday, May 31st, from 8:30am to 2:30pm. kaboom_volunteer_flyer.pdf
Homeless Men Move Forward
A new program at our men’s homeless shelter, Ozanam Inn, is not only helping to motivate men – but to keep them mobile as well. Free bicycles are offered as an incentive to men staying at the shelter as a reward for completing certain tasks or working toward goals that help move them toward self-sufficiency….
Bikes By the Numbers
Bikes By the Numbers 45: Bicycles Donated37: Homeless men who have earned bikes 17: Bicycles donated to children living in our family apartments17: Bicycles given to SVDP children in April.30: Heavy-duty U-Locks donated by a shelter volunteer35: Pounds lost by one male adult client since he began riding his “new” bike
Earning Bikes Help Homeless Men Move Forward
A new program at our men’s homeless shelter, Ozanam Inn, is not only helping to motivate men – but to keep them mobile as well. Free bicycles are offered as an incentive to men staying at the shelter as a reward for completing certain tasks or working toward goals that help move them toward self-sufficiency….
WAY-FM Spotlight Interview: St. Vincent de Paul
Thanks to Christian radio station WAY-FM for allowing us the opportunity to share our mission with their listeners! Here’s an audio link to the interview: https://soundcloud.com/way-fm-louisville/st-vincent-de-paul-spotlight