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YOUNGSTOWN -- The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Central YMCA teamed up Thursday to provide essentials to those in need at a community outreach event at the Y downtown.
"It's all about people in need, and neighbors helping neighbors," said Joe Vivacqua, board vice president for St. Vincent's Mahoning District Council. "We're providing a full lunch, clothing, books for kids and adults, and we're happy to do it."
This event marks a milestone as the first joint event between the two organizations.
"It's the first event with the YMCA, and we're very proud to coordinate with them. They're a great partner," Vivacqua said.
St. Vincent's partnership with the YMCA started when St. Vincent sought to reach out to Youngstown's downtown community to provide assistance to those in distress or poverty who are unable to come to St. Vincent.
"We provide, from St. Vincent de Paul's perspective, outreaches throughout the entire city. So we go from the North Side; we have one at St. Christine on the West Side, and this will be our first, hopefully annual one, downtown," Vivacqua said.
"A lot of the people that are in need can't get to a lot of facilities because they don't have transportation. So we came to them."
According to Beth Scheller, CEO of the YMCA of Youngstown, the Y was enthusiastic about the partnership as the goals and values of St. Vincent aligned with its own.
"The community's better when people and organizations work together," Scheller said. "Our cause is strengthening the foundations of community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. So whenever we can use our facilities to bring the community in and serve, we're happy to do that."
Scheller said the Y strives to work with other organizations to improve conditions in this community.
"We're always looking for opportunities to work with other nonprofit organizations that have similar missions to us," Scheller said. "Whenever we're approached, if it's something that we're able to accommodate and work on, we're always happy to collaborate."
St. Vincent has another event scheduled Saturday at its food pantry at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. Socks and underwear will be given there to those in need.