Did you know…
Our mission is to offer help to members of the community who are in great need. After meeting with a volunteer at one of the offices, assistance may be given in the form of financial help to pay utility or living expenses, donations of food items, vouchers for gas, or referrals and support in connecting to other local agencies who may be able to help with deeper need. The store accepts vouchers from SVdP offices as well as other local agencies to help provide clothing, household goods or furniture at a nominal cost or, at times, free.
We don’t receive financial assistance from any church or the Catholic diocese.
This store exists to support the efforts of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Our Thrift Store is supported solely by the items donated by our community, and by the dedicated volunteers who give their time sorting, pricing, cleaning and arranging merchandise for sale.
An Overview of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul:
The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, in Bradenton, FL is a part of the larger Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and is operated by the Manasota District Council serving the needy in Manatee County. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is the largest international non-profit Catholic lay organization in the world with over 700,000 members in 51,000+ conferences (chapters) in 142 countries. Some 12 million persons are helped annually by Vincentians in the United States. The Society was founded in Paris in 1833. The first Conference established in the United States was in St. Louis in 1845.
Origins of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
Known as the “Apostle of Charity” and the “Father of the Poor”, he founded the Congregation of the Mission, Confraternities of Charity, Daughters of Charity, and Ladies of Charity. St. Vincent had a deep faith and trust in God’s providential care for him and for all people, especially the poor.
Blessed Frederic Ozanam (1813-1853)
The Society was founded in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam, a 20-year-old student at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In answer to a taunt for Catholics to “practice what they preach”, Frederic Ozanam and a group of six other students started to seek out and visit the poor in their homes, taking them bread and clothes, their friendship and concern. This small group took as their patron the great French priest, St. Vincent de Paul.
St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Store 