2020

With your help, MSV was able to successfully navigate the challenges that 2020 brought. We raised over $400,000 for our COVID-19 Relief Fund, kept our food pantries open the entire year, and saw an increased participation in many programs. Read on to find out about some of the major milestones we reached together in 2020.

This year has brought many changes to Project Hope. However, the team of Doulas and Parent Educators have still provided quality services to young mothers and their families on Chicago's west side.

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services is closely monitoring the local impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and want to acknowledge that the disruption and uncertainty surrounding this situation is rather unsettling for all of us.

Fleur de Lis 2021 Update

The Vincentian Circle, MSV's Planned Giving Society, shares some tips and tricks for year-end tax planning. Learn how to defer or minimize your 2020 tax liability.

Adriana grew up in Chicago. She's lived in different neighborhoods across the north side and currently calls Lincoln Park home. “Everywhere I’ve ever lived, I’ve found a home spot that has been a resource to me.” For Adriana, that place is now Marillac St. Vincent Family Services.

Snowmen hunts. Christmas caroling. Cooking. Fall leaves. The list of MSV’s staff favorite holiday traditions is as diverse as the staff itself, and with half a dozen holidays celebrated this time of year, there is no shortage of ways that we celebrate.

Thanksgiving is here and we want to make sure you make it through this holiday with as little stress as possible. Here are six ways to brighten your Thanksgiving this year.

MSV staff has curated the ultimate list of ways to get ready for the holidays. We hope it helps you and your loved ones lean into the spirit of the season as we enter this time of year.

Warm up for Marillac St. Vincent Associate Board’s 2020 Trivia Night and test your MSV knowledge with these trivia questions. Are you an MSV pro? Find out now!

Happy World Kindness Day! Our world is made better by kindness, compassion, and empathy, which is why we work to instill these values in the children we serve. Here is a quick list of ways you can work to foster kindness in the children in your life any day of the year.

A Message From Marillac St. Vincent President and CEO, Peter Beale-DelVecchio

On Friday, October 23, Marillac St. Vincent Family Services successfully hosted its first major virtual event, Beacon of Hope. This year’s event focused on food insecurity in our community and raised over $120,000 for our communities.

Congratulations to Chicago’s new and expecting parents! MSV recognizes that supporting your child’s development is no easy task. Here is a list of local resources and tools to help you on your journey with your little one.

Get to know the wonderful Sr. Judy Warmbold in this month's Staff Spotlight!

There are plenty of ways to help move our mission forward that do not involve in person engagements. If you're looking to get involved with MSV and build a stronger Chicago from the comfort of your couch, this is the list for you.

We regularly hear people wanting to be helpful to those around them. One of the best ways you can help MSV is by advocating for our communities and our clients. We thought we would make it easy by breaking it down and explaining exactly how you can be an advocate for seniors.

The leaves are changing and so is the weather, but there is still time to have some socially distanced family fun. Check out this list brought to you by the family and youth experts at MSV to find activities and events that will keep you and the children in your life engaged.

Marillac St. Vincent has launched #MSVChicaGOVOTE! A social media campaign designed to help you spread the word on the importance of voting in the November election.

Former MSV art instructor and current art student, Isissia Drake, lives creativity every day. This summer she brought her talents back to MSV to guide a group of Hope Jr. youth in creating a powerful mural for our community garden.

It is with great pleasure that Marillac St. Vincent announces the addition of four new members to our Board of Trustees. Chatigny Imburgia, Anne Meara, Mia Jiganti, and Kieran Fearon come to MSV with a variety of backgrounds and professional experience and we welcome them to the MSV family.

August marks the first anniversary of Marillac St. Vincent’s Chief Operating Officer, Maureen Hallagan’s, appointment to the Illinois Department of Human Services’ (IDHS) Child Care Advisory Council

Stop by August 27-29 for Nearly New's end of summer Brown Bag Sale!

What do excellence, creativity, respect, empowerment, advocacy, respect, and integrity have in common? Each one is a core value of Marillac St. Vincent Family Services. We are excited to announce our Committed to Our Core Value Series where we will take a deeper look into how MSV lives out these core values every day.

In March, the Family Support teams at Marillac Social Center and St. Vincent de Paul Center were faced with a major question; how do we provide support for parents if we can’t host onsite support groups? The West Side and North Side centers have organized parent support groups for years, inviting families to join several times a month to learn about child development and engage in family activities.

Get to know MSV's new Development Services Manager, Alissa Schiada, in this month's Staff Spotlight!

One Summer Chicago "Chicagoability" connects youth to a successful future through hands on training and summer jobs. The program provides short-term employment opportunities for young people and MSV was awarded 30 slots for teens for the second year in a row.

To celebrate #NationalChickenWingDay we decided to make your day a little better by creating a list of independent Chicago restaurants serving up wings. Bon(e in or out) apetite!

After several months of virtual visits, MSV's Senior Case Management Program is resuming in person home visits.

Nearly New Thrift Shop has opened its doors once again since closing in March 2020 due to COVID-19. Stop by the store and check out our new merchandise today!

Looking for a list of children's books and young adult novels by some amazing Black and POC authors? Well look no further! Whether you are looking to help the young people in your life connect to their identity or merely share the experiences of Black or POC characters, these are great reads to add to your summer reading list.

Get to know MSV superhero, Olivia Grist, in this month's Volunteer Highlight!

Summer is upon us and while we must be careful to social distance and wear masks, it is also important that we indulge in fun activities too. That is why MSV has created a list of fun, social-distance-friendly summer activities for youth. There is still plenty to do, even during quarantine, and we hope that you find some enjoyable activities on this list to help keep you busy!

Since the rise of COVID-19, MSV has gone to great lengths to maintain the safety of all staff and clients. Following 15 weeks of being mostly shutdown, our centers have reopened with limited capacity for most of our programs and services.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has brought countless challenges, but with the help of supporters and volunteers Marillac St. Vincent Family Services has been able to face them, head-on.

The Marillac St. Vincent community, like much of the country, is still reeling after the murder of George Floyd. Staff, clients, and supporters are coming together to now to ask, how do we as an organization move forward?

Get to know MSV's newest Pre-K Supervisor, Martina Carter!

With help from our generous friends and supporters, a strong showing from new volunteers, and forward-thinking staff, MSV has not only been able to keep both of our food pantries open, we have also been able to uphold the dignity of our clients through the food distribution process.

As our Reopening Task Force dives deep into the hard work of developing a safe, effective, flexible, and trauma-informed strategy for resuming services we are reminded how we are blessed with the wisdom of our founders, the support of our donors and the creative compassion of our entire MSV family.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Eddie, one of our amazing food pantry volunteers, to find out a little bit more about him and his experiences volunteering with MSV.

Summer at Marillac St. Vincent is always a time to look forward to. Our centers come alive in a flurry of activity as we take advantage of the warmer weather. This year things look different.

When the Stay at Home orders were announced in Illinois, we knew that this would present many challenges for the hundreds of children and families we serve each day.

Seniors are a vital part of our community and making sure that older folks feel empowered and that they are a part of something bigger, especially while home-bound, is essential.

MSV staff were asked to recommend a book that inspired them to carry out the mission of MSV or informed their work in some way. Here is their list of recommendations!

“To Paul, our food pantry isn't merely about providing sustenance; it's about preserving the dignity and safety of our community members."

The COVID-19 inspired CARES act includes several provisions that impact the tax deductibility of donating to non-profits.

Seniors in Marillac St. Vincent’s network rely on the home delivery initiative for food through the agency’s Senior Services program as part of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic response plan.

The Eating for Life pilot was officially launched in early 2020 and aims to build individual skills and knowledge around cooking, nutrition, budgeting, meal planning, and healthy choices to improve quality of life.

Many supporters of Marillac St. Vincent Family Services know they can deduct donations to charity from their income taxes but increasing your knowledge of tax planning strategies can maximize your giving impact and potential tax savings. Check out these easy tips.

Pregnancy is a time of constant change and the endless stream of new information can feel overwhelming. Bring this list of questions with you to your next doctor's appointment to feel informed and ready for your pregnancy.