MARYSVILLE — Local members of St. Vincent de Paul held a walk to raise money in September.
About 30 members of the organization gathered at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Marysville one weekend morning.
They went to mass, signed in at a table out front, then took a stroll around the church’s grounds, a half-mile loop. Some went for a second lap.
Others didn’t walk, but just made monetary donations to St. Vincent de Paul.
“My knees and hips are bad,” said Charlotte Maine, who was working the sign-in table for the Friends of the Poor Faith Run/Walk.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a lay Catholic organization whose mission is to serve the poor.
The local conference of St. Mary’s and St. Anne’s Mission was established in 1986, but this is the first time it has hosted one of the walks, said Chris Floyd, the chapter president.
“We just decided we would try it, we would do it, see what funds we can raise and also bring awareness of our community to St. Vincent de Paul and our efforts,” she said.
The organization provides direct aid to the poor for rent, utilities, food, transportation or medical bills. The group also provides referrals to food banks or to other charities as needed.
In 2015, the chapter donated about $28,000 in aid to approximately 640 people, Floyd said.
That amount included $13,000 in grant money from the Tulalip Tribes, which the conference used to increase the amount of money it gave out for utility payments.
“We don’t pay entire bills; people need to be able to help themselves,” Floyd said.
The tribes donated $3,000 this year, too, she said.
The walk held Sept. 24 raised $6,183, she said. The Marysville Bike Shop, On the Spot Housekeeping and the local Albertsons, Grocery Outlet and Walmart stores contributed a little more than $800 of the total.
There are about 1,800 families in the St. Mary’s parish, said Father Tom McMichael, and St. Vincent de Paul has offered a lot to the community.
“We have a wonderful St. Vincent de Paul group who do a lot of good work,” he said.
That parish has a large Latino community. McMichael did mission work in Central America and leads services in English and Spanish.
Aldo Barletta, who is a representative of St. Vincent de Paul’s diversity committee for the area, said the Latino community at St. Mary’s accounts for a lot of the need met by St. Vincent de Paul.
“They have a hard time getting help, and even asking for help,” Barletta said.
Originally from Barranquilla, Colombia, Barletta said the goal of the faith walk was simply to try new things and attract new people.
“It’s surprising how rewarding this is,” he said. “You think you can help, but you receive so many blessings back. I found my second family.”
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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