Who We Are and What We Do

We are caring individuals having a common interest in providing assistance to Friends in Need in our local community and elsewhere.

The Saint Malachy Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul was formed in 2000 and aggregated in 2004 through the efforts of a small cadre of like minded Parishioners. Over the past eight years for which we have statistics, utilizing the generous donations of Parishioners and other sources, we have provided monetary support, spiritual support and food to over 22,000 Friends in Need in our local community.

Realizing that there were SVdP conferences elsewhere in need, we heeded a call to expand our footprint and became a twinning partner with the Lourdes de Placeres Saint Vincent de Paul Conference in Valpraiso, Chile and have developed a reciprocal caring relationship with their members. A stipend that we send helps them provide needed services to their local community.

Understanding that immediate aid for families only provides temporary relief, our Conference began a Systemic Change program in 2016. The goal of the program is to assist individuals who do not have the resources to pursue the education or training necessary to become gainfully employed and self-sufficient. Our assistance can be in the form of payments for employment related training, educational or training fees, tuition, necessary supplies, computers, software, related equipment, transportation assistance, certification fees and other expenses. Over the years we have been contacted by twenty-three individuals and have given eleven students financial aid and mentorship to help them realize the goals that they have set. We are currently assisting a Friend in Need in a two-year program of life skills training that will allow him to live independently.

The Conference has a Prison Ministry that regularly visits the Tehachapi California Correctional Institution and offers spiritual support to those housed there. We also provide dress-out clothing for inmates that are being released.

Lastly, we also send financial aid and prayers to other SVdP conferences as well as approved local, regional and international organizations. We are an example of the parable of the mustard seed that has grown from the smallest of seeds to a large plant.