Welcome to the London, Holy Family Parish, Society of St. Vincent de Paul Youth Conference web site page. We were founded in September 2008. In our first two years we have clocked over 1200 hours in community service hours. This is our third active year and we are currently visiting four regular sites monthly. Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month throughout the school year we are serving the poor, less fortunate or marginalized in some way. With two sites on each Wednesday, our group of 34 youth and 5 young adult leaders and 2 adult coordinators visit McGarrell Nursing home and L’Arche Community Living – Bethany Home on the 2nd Wednesday. On the 4th Wednesday, we are at Horizon Retirement Home and Boys and Girls Club of London.

This year we have started a new program, “Bagged Lunches” for the homeless and working poor in our community. On all P.A. Days during the school year, we help serve over 400 people breakfast and lunch at the St. Joseph Hospitality Centre, a local soup kitchen. Now, the evening before the PA Day, we are making up Bagged Lunches to distribute to the clients who patron the facility. This way if the client cannot get to a dinner program they will have a premade meal for that evening. This last P.A. Day, our group made 100 Bagged Lunches.

We are also planning to make a collection for a community organization that aids and supplies residence for pregnant teens. This organization monitors the Mother and child until the child is 2 years of age to make sure they have a good start in life. The collection will consist of general necessities needed in raising a child and caring for the mother. We will be looking for basic needs of the mother such as shampoo, tooth paste, maternity clothes and so on. Diapers, infant clothing, formula, and whatever else is needed in caring for an infant / toddler will be collected as well. This project will take place this year during the winter months after we find an appropriate site for the collection.