Create a Legacy
What matters to you? What statement do you wish to make your children, grandchildren, to the world itself about who you are as a person?
This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. John 15:12
Create a great example for your children and grandchildren. Supporting a charity such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a great legacy to share with your family.
Be remembered. While all we strive to do while on this earth is temporal, we know that kindness and love endure. Give love to those in need.
Show God’s love to those with less.
Through the National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul, you can create a legacy of faith. Learn more.
Josephine “Josie” Valenti
Josephine “Josie” Valenti loved children (pictured to the left with her father Alfonso). She recognized that they are the future “but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’” Matthew 19:14
Karen Cuder Pastern
When Karen Cuder Pastern passed away in 2015, she left a legacy of selflessness. As a child in the 1950s, she learned the importance of God and tradition from Mary, her mother. “Karen was very devoted to her faith, her Church and her charities,” said Jeremy McCollum, her nephew.
Eleanor Marchese Biel
When Eleanor Marchese Biel was a girl growing up in Akron, Ohio, blocks of ice chilled her family's food in the ice box, shoveled coal heated her family's home - and generosity and kindness to one's fellow neighbor was part of her upbringing
Vincent and Virginia Wilson
This beautiful and inspiring verse from Proverbs 3:27 exemplifies how Vincent and Virginia Wilson lived their lives. “They donated to charities for more than 50 years consistently, devoted absolutely to their Catholic faith,” said Jim Wilson, the couple’s youngest son.
Charity Beyond Borders: One Man’s Vision of Giving
Jeff, a retired husband, father and grandfather, took action in the fall of 2015. He had been thinking for some time about what he could do to help people in need. After spending his life as a public servant and then as a small business owner, he had grappled since his retirement with how he could help people in need from his home state, while also taking a bite out of some of the worst poverty in the region of the country in which he now lives.
Soaking It Up! The Great Adventure of Life
Sarah Rutherford was known for her determination and sense of adventure. When her boyfriend, Thomas Wilson, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1940, just before WWII, she knew what she had to do. While he was in pre-flight training in Pensacola, Sarah purchased a one-way ticket to Florida, with the intention of becoming a married woman.
It is what we are asked to do
For many years, Marianne Phelan served people in need through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, most recently at Transfiguration Parish in Wauconda, Illinois. "I am a retired CPA," said Marianne, who keeps current through her memberships in professional associations. She is concerned about the future of charitable giving because of the new tax law that went into effect this year.
