Greetings to All Vincentians

This past Saturday, October 19th was a very memorable day in the history of Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Windsor Essex. Just in case you missed it, that was the day of the Grand Opening of our new store at 1245 Lauzon Road in Windsor. After 6 long months of a lot of hard work and dedication by many Vincentians and our “Honorary Vincentians”, (our contractors), our dream became a reality. A new facility to house our warehouse, store and offices into one location was finally complete.

The day started with a small gathering at 8:30 am with a warm welcoming and thank you to all that made this day possible. That was followed by Joanne Gignac , our local city councillor saying a few words of congratulations on behalf of the Mayor's office and praising our Society for all we do for the poor of our community.

Fr. Daniel Bombardier, our Episcopal Vicar for Windsor-Essex then proceeded to lead us in a short service and blessed our new building. The ribbon was cut by Fr. Daniel and our new store was officially open for business. The crowd of well wishers and customers was overwhelming and caught us a little bit off guard. Although we were expecting our new store to be a success, we had no idea of the multitude of shoppers we would have. The line ups at our two cash registers was enormous and some people waited close to 3o minutes to get to the front of the check out line. Some of our customers were still checking out after 6 pm. The staff and volunteers were run off their feet all day just trying to keep up and keep the shelves stocked.

Our new easily accessible drop off area was non-stop with people bringing their donations all day. Needless to say, the sales exceeded all our expectations and we set a record for the most sales in just one day.

Everyone that entered the store were singing our praises of what a beautiful store it was and how it will really fill a need in East Windsor and beyond. Numerous people commented on our “Donor Wall” as they walked into the store. Many of them actually purchased one of our “SSVP Fish” to be displayed on our wall along side the rest of our donors who helped make our store a reality. I'm sure that once you get a chance to view this wall of honour you may also want to purchase and display a “Fish”. There's still lots of space available.

This whole experience was just one “God Moment” after another. Every time an obstacle was put in front of us, we somehow found a way around it. It would be hard for even a non-believer not to admit that there was a higher power leading us through every step of the way. God answered every one of our prayers and led us to find solutions to all situations. I'm sure that all involved in making this dream a reality will agree that this experience has been both life giving and faith restoring and rewarding.

From all of us involved, I would like to “Thank All of You” for your support and prayers for allowing us to serve the poor in our community in such a profound way. It is our hope and belief that this store will serve the poor in our community for many decades to come.

May God continue to bless us in our ministry.

“Let it Shine”

Dave Leslie
Central Council of Windsor-Essex