News Archives - Society of St. Vincent de Paul

You voted St. Vinny’s Thrift Stores as the best around town. Thank you! And, thank you for shopping and donating. We are proud to operate quality thrift stores and bring you unique, one-of-a-kind events.

Recent awards:

Madison Magazine Best of Madison:

Best Thrift/Secondhand/Consignment Store: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019
Best Home Accessories: 2022
Best Clothing (Women): 2022
Best Clothing (Men): 2023, (bronze), 2022 (bronze), 2018 (bronze)

Madison.com People’s Choice:

Consignment/Used Clothing Store/Resale Shop: 2023, 2022, 2021
Clothing Store (Women’s): 2023, 2021
Clothing Store (Men’s): 2023 (bronze)
Charitable Organization: 2022 (silver), 2021 (bronze)

Waunakee’s Tribune Best of Waunakee Awards:

Best Place to Shop for Bargains: 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2010
Best Retail Store: 2022

Sun Prairie STAR Best of Sun Prairie Awards

Best Place to Shop for Bargains: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016

During November, National Homelessness Awareness Month, take a moment to learn about the realities of homelessness. In our own community, roughly 750 Madison Schools – MMSD students currently experience homelessness.

Key definitions:

Homelessness: “a condition in which an individual or family lacks a fixed, regular, nighttime residence; resides in a public or private residence that is not designed or intended to be a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; lives in a supervised shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements; and/or is at imminent risk of losing their housing and has no subsequent residence identified or resources to obtain other permanent housing.”
Unaccompanied youth / homeless families with children: have experienced a long term period without living independently in permanent housing, have experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves over such period, and can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic disabilities, chronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a child or youth with a disability, or multiple barriers to employment.

Source: Cornell Law School

Press release

Madison, WI – The statewide kickoff event for Homelessness Awareness Month will be held at the Wisconsin State Capitol Rotunda on Nov. 1 at noon. This event is open to the public and everyone is invited to attend. Speakers will include state representatives addressing the concerns of homelessness in Wisconsin and individuals speaking about their lived experience of homelessness. This event is an opportunity to build much needed awareness of the homeless crisis in our state.

Local communities around the state may also be holding their own events in the month of November to mark Homelessness Awareness Month.

One of the speakers at the Nov. 1 statewide event will be state Rep. Patrick Snyder (Assembly District 85). According to Rep. Snyder, “Collaboration and coordination among government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community groups are crucial to ensure efficient delivery of services and resources to homeless individuals. Establishing interagency partnerships can help streamline processes and maximize the impact of available resources.”

Michael Basford, Director of the Wisconsin Interagency Council on Homelessness, is also scheduled to speak at the statewide kickoff event. “As we reflect in November on the issues of homelessness in our communities, we must recognize that homelessness affects too many people in Wisconsin. It is happening in every area of our state – whether urban, suburban, or rural. It is on all of us to provide help and resources for Wisconsinites experiencing homelessness and ensure that people who need it get access to safe, affordable housing,” said Basford, in preparation for the event.

The Nov. 1 statewide kickoff event will also feature a Ribbon Tree designed to showcase and measure the different types of homelessness experienced in Wisconsin. Works of art, of various media, created by artists depicting how they see, or have personally experienced homelessness, will be on display and available for purchase. Through these events we hope we can come together to find better solutions to address this growing issue of homelessness in our state and communities.

A collection of articles, videos and stories from local news stations on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison.

Sostento (begin watching at 45:29): Uber Rides for Health Equity

Clothing + furniture vouchers

Channel3000: 12 Days of Giving — The Kight family

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program

Madison South Rotary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO3UpwWKtog

Microlending

The Cap Times: St. Vincent de Paul offers microloans to compete with payday lenders

City Cast Madison: (begin listening at 08:32) https://link.chtbl.com/2qx8AQiS?sid=madison.minutes

WPR: Madison nonprofit to offer payday lender alternative

Food pantry

NBC 15: Madison food pantries seeking volunteers ahead of busiest season

NBC15: Dane Co. non-profit gives wool sweaters a second life, donates funds to food pantries

Wisconsin State Journal: ReMitts spins wool into $750,000 to support Madison food pantries

Isthmus: Give Back Give Thanks

WMSN Fox47: Volunteer with St. Vincent de Paul Madison’s Food Pantry

Sun Prairie STAR: Sun Prairie restaurant partners on food drive

NBC15: Mad Kidney Fest emerges to highlight awareness, kidney-friendly menu options

Wisconsin State Journal: Already reeling from inflated food costs, families now face Foodshare cuts

Wisconsin Public Radio: Food pantries experiencing extremely high demand this holiday season

Madison.com: More demand, higher prices: Madison food pantries feel the pinch of inflation

PBS Wisconsin: Inflation hits Wisconsin food pantries and the families they support

Madison.com: ‘We haven’t hit the ceiling yet;’ Dane County food pantries worried about record demand

Madison365: Area food pantries report record demand, need donations

WKOW-27: Area food pantries report record demand, decreasing donations

The Catholic Herald: Record demand at Dane County food pantries

Sun Prairie Star: Increased demand stressing area food pantries, including Sun Prairie’s

The Badger Herald: Dane County food pantries see record demand

Madison Commons: Dane County food pantries facing more demand than ever before

WORT 89.9 Food pantries struggle to keep up with demand

NBC15: Increased food need exhibited by high demand at Dane County food pantries

InBusiness: Area food pantries report record demand

Channel3000: Dane County food pantries see record high demand

Middleton Cross Plains Times-Tribune: Demand Up at Food Pantries Around the Area, Donations Needed

The Cap Times: St. Vincent food pantry in Madison sees record-high use

Member conferences

Channel3000: Society of St. Vincent de Paul holds winter blanket drive

WKOW-27: St. Vincent de Paul hosting annual Recycle the Warmth Blanket Drive

Sun Prairie Star: St. Vinny’s to host ‘Recycle the Warmth’ drive January 27-29

Catholic Review: At National Assembly, members of Society of St. Vincent de Paul urged to renew commitment to home visits

Volunteers

La Movida: El Debate, Wednesday November 15th

NBC 15: Madison food pantries seeking volunteers ahead of busiest season

WMSN Fox47: Volunteer with St. Vincent de Paul Madison’s Food Pantry

The Catholic Herald: St. Vincent de Paul honors dedicated volunteers

Other

Madison365: Elisha Santiago-Barudin becomes first-ever senior director of human resources of Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Madison

The Catholic Herald: Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Madison welcomes senior director of human resources

Read how your care, compassion and encouragement help neighbors in need. Current edition: Thanksgiving 2023.

23 TH NL

Background, Plans & FAQ

Current Plans and Renderings Background and FAQs

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Madison will conduct a building project near the intersection of Williamson Street and S. Baldwin Street in Madison. The zone currently hosts the St. Vincent de Paul Williamson Street Thrift Store and the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program office.

The intent is to demolish two structurally compromised buildings along Baldwin Street – as well as the Williamson Street store’s book room, which shares the lot with one of those buildings. A two-story building at the Baldwin Williamson corner will be erected and a single-story building will be expanded retail space, while the new corner building’s second floor will house the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Program, supportive services for single parents of minor children to stabilize their housing and lives.

Brief history

The core mission of the District Council of Madison – Society of St. Vincent de Paul is helping Dane County neighbors in need. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Society has been engaged in that mission in Madison since 1925 and has had a physical locus in the Williamson-Marquette neighborhood since 1941, when SVdP Madison opened a store on Baldwin Street. From that location, St. Vincent de Paul’s retail and service complex grew organically around the Baldwin corner to Williamson Street to become the Society’s local flagship thrift store. The parcel at the corner of Williamson and Baldwin streets has since served as the Society’s busy food pantry and then as the office location of the Seton House women’s transitional housing program – as well the site of the adjoining Willy Street store’s book room.

The Williamson-Baldwin corner property and the original Baldwin Street portion of the thrift-store complex have clearly reached their end of life. SVdP Madison has been advised that the corner “Seton 2” building, an old balloon-frame structure, is not sound enough to salvage and remodel. Compromised wooden roof trusses of the Baldwin retail property have led the Society to empty that space and leave it unused for its usual purpose. The century-old concrete structure of the Baldwin store space is of unknown design capacity. After carefully considering options, St. Vincent de Paul is seeking to rebuild in the footprint of these two parcels. New construction designed to sensitively honor the look and feel of the local traditional shopping street and historic district will best serve the interest of safety, modern code compliance, energy efficiency, sustainability, and avoidance of unintended consequences.

These are key objectives for the future of properties SVdP Madison intends to continue using for purposes toward which the site has long been put. Those purposes are supporting and meeting the Society’s mission by selling and giving away donated goods and by offering other charitable services to local households in need. Through new, historically sensitive construction, SVdP Madison’s plan is to devote almost all first-floor space to retail and – for the corner – parcel create second-floor space focused on serving neighbors in need through SVdP Madison charitable programming.

Selected news coverage

Madison.com: The changing face of Willy Street: St. Vincent de Paul to demolish 3 buildings by thrift store

Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce: St. Vincent de Paul — Madison announces the groundbreaking for its new building

NBC15: St. Vincent de Paul of Madison breaks ground on store expansion project

Channel3000: (begin video at 08:30) News 3 Now at Five – March 13, 2023

The Catholic Herald: St. Vincent de Paul breaks ground on new renovations

The Cap Times: St. Vincent de Paul plans expansion on Willy Street

St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy has COVID-19 vaccines and information, for free! We also have flu shots available. Schedule your appointment to protect yourself, your family and the ones you love. Click the link below or call (608) 292-2549 to schedule your COVID-19 vaccine. We have resumed our COVID-19 testing. You can also refer here for testing locations in Dane County. What to do if you test positive.

Schedule your COVID-19 vaccine here.

Schedule your COVID-19 test here.

Do you need a ride to your COVID-19 vaccine appointment? Through Uber, we can pick you up. Please call: (608) 268-0355.

St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy is open:

Monday: 11:00am – 2:00pm
Tuesday: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Thursday 3:00pm – 6:00pm

St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy is committed to keep their doors open. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Charitable Pharmacy staff and volunteers have kept doors open, provided free medications, COVID-19 vaccines and information to Dane County neighbors in need.

Click Continue Reading for more information about the election of our own local Society of St. Vincent de Paul CEO as the national president of our organization.