Who We Are

The Saint Vincent de Paul Society was founded in Paris in 1833 by Fredric Ozanam to pursue the ideals of St. Vincent de Paul to help the poor. The organization came to the United States in 1845. For more information on our organization, see the San Francisco Council's home page.

The Athens council was founded in 1985. Members come mostly from Christ the King University Parish and Saint Paul's Catholic Church.

When many people think of this society, they picture clothing drives. In Athens, however we have discovered our great success lies in distribution of food to people in the area who are down on their luck temporarily, or who are unable to make a living for whatever reason. This is because the founding members learned how to work with local, state, and Federal programs to bring food to the poor in a very efficient manner. With all volunteer labor, this organization is able to deliver food to families at an average cost to our donors of 18.5 cents a pound!