The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) is a volunteer, parish-based ministry dedicated to helping our neighbors in need. Guided by Matthew 25:40 — “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” — we seek to grow spiritually through works of charity. We serve our neighbors in need with compassion, dignity and respect.
The ministry at St. Theresa is one of 48 neighborhood-based outreach teams, known as conferences, under the leadership of St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle/King County. Emergency assistance provided by our St. Theresa Conference may include:
- Rent and utility support
- Short-term motel shelter for Federal Way homeless families or individuals with acute medical respite needs
- Food, gas vouchers, bus passes, clothing and furniture
We call ourselves Vincentians, in honor of St. Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of the poor. Through home/outreach visits, Vincentians listen — seeking to understand each neighbor’s situation and working together to prioritize needs and develop a plan of assistance. Our goal is to promote self‑sufficiency, combining personal resources, SVdP support, and connections to other community services.
Our impact
In 2025, our St. Theresa Conference assisted 338 households, serving approximately 1,115 neighbors. Among those we served:
- 48% were children under 18
- 87% were people of color
- 98% had very low household income (below 50% of the Area Median Income)
Our conference also coordinates Christmas Giving, a St. Theresa Parish tradition. Parishioners' donations of food and children's gifts are delivered directly to families in need. In 2025, the Christmas Giving program assisted 115 families with 300 children.
Need help?
Funding/How to give
Our work is made possible by the generous members of St. Theresa Parish, who provide financial support and food donations. With no paid staff, 99% of all donations directly assist neighbors. We gratefully acknowledge additional support from:
- City of Federal Way
- St. Theresa Knights of Columbus Council #7908
- Puyallup Tribal Charity Fund
- Windermere Foundation
- Marco J. Heidner Foundation
- SVdP USA Friends of the Poor.
You can help by:
- Making a financial donation in your your monthly SvdP envelope (registered parishioners) or online through PushPay. (From the drop-down menu, choose "Society of St. Vincent de Paul").
Click to donate online
- Donating goods -- such as nonperishable food, paper products and hygiene items -- in the SVdP donation bin, located in the narthex. Check the parish bulletin or weekly newsletter for items that are currently needed.
Become a Vincentian
“The SVdP Society helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus and as a Christian. I was able to meet our neighbors in need, talk with them, laugh with them, pray with them, and see how God would use our eyes, our hands, our feet to help meet their needs.”
— Susan Toohey
New Vincentians are mentored by experienced volunteers and receive training through SVdP Seattle/King County. Vincentians work in pairs, typically responding to one to two calls per week at mutually convenient times.
Meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 7 p.m. in the parish office.
For more information, contact Roberta Reardon: rr@nventure.com.
History, mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
A young law student named Frederic Ozanam founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1833 in Paris, France. Ozanam and five friends wanted to form a group to assist the poor and decided to call it “Conference of Charity.” It was later renamed the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, after the patron saint of the poor.