Fellow Vincentians,
As the new Chair of the Voice for the Poor Committee, I wanted to update you on our work. First, the new National Council Board made a small name change and we are now the Voice FOR the Poor Committee. While our committee’s name changed slightly, our mission and focus remain the same.
The National Voice for The Poor Committee is charged with advocating on behalf of people in poverty, and with education and information-sharing to strengthen and grow Council and Conference involvement with advocating for policy solutions to local, state, and national leaders and legislators.
During the Midyear Meeting, the National Council Members approved the updated Human Trafficking position paper. One of our committee’s goals is to update the National Council’s position papers, and we would like to update two or three papers each year. We will seek input of other national committees, including Formation, not only to work collaboratively, but also, to make sure that Catholic Social Teaching is incorporated into all our position papers. You can find the position papers on our website.
Also at the Midyear Meeting, we introduced the updated Voice for the Poor Manual, a digital document that can be found and downloaded or printed from the National Council website. I also presented a session on how to start a Voice For the Poor committee and recorded a short video that introduces the Voice For the Poor that will be available for upcoming SVdP Regional Meetings.
Please stay tuned for many exciting Voice For the Poor updates. You can find more information at https://members.ssvpusa.org/voice-of-the-poor/ or email us at vop@svdpusa.org.
In Christ,
Bobby Kinkela
Voice For the Poor Chair
P.S. Don’t forget to make advocacy part of your regular Conference and Council meetings. Make it an agenda topic. I encourage you to invite your fellow Vincentians, parishioners, and friends to become advocates for their neighbors in need. Why? Because our neighbors in need deserve it! Sign up at https://ssvpusa.org/take-action. Thank you!