Correspondent photo / Nancilynn Gatta John F. Kennedy School upper campus juniors Katie Andre of Youngstown, left, and Kaelyn Fletcher of Warren look at the Lego silent auction items as volunteers at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Northeast Ohio District Council’s gala Feb. 14 at the Grand Resort in Howland.

HOWLAND — After an extended period of frigid weather, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Northeast Ohio District Council gave Mahoning Valley residents a reason to get dressed up and enjoy themselves Feb. 14 at the Grand Resort.

It was the inaugural gala of their 95th anniversary, “Night of Hope.”

“This has been a rough winter and any excuse to get out of the house and have a bit of fun seems like a worthy endeavor,” said Darlene S. Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the society.

It gave the impression of a wedding reception. It was Saturday night, Valentine’s Day, guests wore suits and dressy outfits, there was a band, a meal and a cookie table. Yet, it was much more.

There was a fundraising aspect, with 59 silent auction items and three golden ticket chances for trips, plus a video describing the accomplishments of 95 years of everyday people caring and looking after their neighbors and their community.

“While fundraising is always critical to providing programs and services, beyond fundraising, we want the gala to strengthen relationships among our supporters and highlight the real impact of our mission in the community. It’s an opportunity to celebrate shared accomplishments, inspire continued involvement and build momentum for the work ahead,” Jones said.

The Rev. Christopher Cicero, pastor of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, gave the blessing prior to the meal and St. Vincent de Paul Society board president Susan Franko opened with a short speech on the nonprofit’s history and inception in Trumbull County.

The society was created in Paris, France in 1833. Law students were asked to put their Catholic faith into action to help the poor. They gave their group the name of their patron saint, St. Vincent de Paul. In 1845, St. Louis, Missouri, was the site of the first St. Vincent de Paul Society in the United States.

In 1921, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Stephen churches in Niles started unofficial chapters, but it was in 1930 when a group of men from St. Rose Church in Girard started the official conference there.

Jones mentioned that the need for the society’s services has expanded greatly in the past few years because of a perfect storm of a global pandemic, which resulted in job loss to an already economically disadvantaged area dealing with inflation and rising costs of food and housing, childcare and health care costs, and extremely limited homeless shelter availability in Trumbull County.

“Our mission is to grow in faith and fellowship through service to others. That ethos has been tested severely as the St. Vincent de Paul Society was tasked with significant social crises within a short period of time,” Jones said.

She saw the gala as a fun way to thank volunteers, donors, businesses and foundations who have stepped up to support the society during these trying last few years.

John F. Kennedy School upper campus juniors Katie Andre of Youngstown and Kaelyn Fletcher of Warren volunteered to help guests navigate the technology of bidding on auction items. They said they were happy to represent their school as they helped support the community.

Kathlene Anerino of Warren volunteers twice a week at the food kitchen. She came to support the organization because she believes in their work.

Van Nelson, chief executive officer of Trumbull Community Action Program (TCAP), attended the event as a partner of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The two nonprofits collaborate to help people in the community and Nelson celebrated their successes at the gala.

The host for the evening was Lauren Lindvig-Housel. Wearing her support for the nonprofit’s mission, she began her introductions with a discussion of her clothes.

“I am a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop shopper. I got the outfit I am wearing from there and my shoes are from the Salvation Army,” she said.

Prior to the video presentation created by her company, Bliss 360 Marketing, Lindvig-Housel mentioned the producer of the video, Ron Flaviano, who is the video content manager at her company.

The video presentation told the story of the people who have been helped through the society’s programs and services that are offered to local residents. It also provided a way to highlight the staff who supply the help.

Lindvig-Housel ended her part of the evening by reminding everyone to identify their gifts and use them to help the nonprofit. Some of her suggestions included volunteering to make phone calls and making monetary donations.

“We could never provide the programs and services we do without the support of local donors, businesses, foundations and collaborating agencies,” Jones said. “Our entire community has been instrumental in helping those in need locally, and many of them are here tonight to be celebrated as well.”

The vision statement of the nonprofit for its future is “Through our works, the vision of SVDP Northeast Ohio District is to change the face of charity and grow in faith, through service to others, one neighbor at a time.”