2022

The Marillac St. Vincent Family Services Associate Board are a group of young professionals from around the Chicagoland area who are dedicated to supporting the mission of MSV. For over 20 years, the board has helped create awareness and raise funds for the organization. To celebrate the accomplishments of the Associate Board, we interviewed two active members. Events Chair, Johnny Sullivan, and Outreach and Volunteer Services Leader, Ashley Thorne.

Tutoring Chicago has been a strong partner with Marillac St. Vincent Family Services at the St. Vincent de Paul Center in Lincoln Park for 15 years by providing tutoring services for school-aged kids. As students across Chicago return to school for the first time this year, Tutoring Chicago is gearing up for the 2022-23 tutoring season. In celebration of the new academic term, Tutoring Chicago has compiled this list of tips for a successful tutoring experience for teachers, volunteers, and parents.

We honor Sister Kathy Overmann, D.C., who leaves Marillac St. Vincent after 10 years of service in our Senior Service programs. Sr. Kathy has worked with seniors for 40 years, and as a Daughter of Charity, moves on to her next mission to help support the homeless in New Orleans. She has been a key element in our Senior Services department and will be greatly missed among our community.

As part of AT&T’s $2 billion commitment to help bridge the digital divide, the company opened the new AT&T Connected Learning Center at Marillac St. Vincent’s Foglia Family & Youth Center in East Garfield Park. This is the first AT&T Connected Learning Center launched in Chicago.

Gun Violence is a major topic in headlines throughout the U.S. and it hits close to home in the communities supported by Marillac St. Vincent. June 2nd was Gun Violence Awareness Day and the following weekend from June 3rd-5th Americans, as well as the MSV Community, supported it by wearing orange and facilitating positive, safe conversations among the students and staff. We spoke with Albert Richardson, Director of Youth Services at MSV, to learn a little more about Youth Services and the positive elements offered to kids while also providing support in times of crisis.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- They're hoping the change the narrative on young Black life by showing students of color in a positive light. It's all a part of this year's career fair, sponsored by Marillac St. Vincent Family Services.

CHICAGO — A career day event for young people was held on the West Side Saturday with a simple message: “You can be anything you want to be.”

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services (MSV) is pleased to welcome Veronica Brown as its new Chief Development Officer. Veronica brings over 20 years of fundraising experience including annual fund, major gifts, capital campaigns, planned giving, board development, and non-profit management expertise. In this new role, she will lead fundraising and marketing strategies.

On Thursday, May 12th, Marillac St. Vincent Family Services hosted its 27th Annual Fleur De Lis Ball at the Adler Planetarium. Thank you to all our MSV family and friends who attended and supported the tremendous success of the event. The weather cooperated, giving us a gorgeous evening under the stars with the beautiful Chicago skyline in the background. This year’s event brought 250 members of the MSV Family together in person and we are grateful to have raised over $550,000!

On May 21st, the Marillac St. Vincent Associate Board hosted its 4th annual Career Day for youth in MSV’s School-Age and Hope Junior programs. Thirty-four young people attended the morning-long event to hear 12 young professionals share about their career journeys and offer words of encouragement for the students’ own life goals. Speakers ranged from medical and law professions to entrepreneurs, personal services, marketing and real estate.

In April 2022, Student Clinicians from the new Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Graduate Program at DePaul University began their clinical placement at St. Vincent DePaul Center. DePaul Student Clinicians and Faculty Supervisors collaborate with Sr. Kara Davis to meet the increased need for speech therapy services to children in the preschool program at MSV.

MSV applauds and thanks Governor Pritzker, President of the Senate Harmon, Speaker of the House Welsh, Senator Feigenholz, Senator Van Pelt, Representative Croke and Representative Williams for their support of the FY 23 Illinois State budget. The budget includes a welcome increase of $54.4 million (10% increase) in state funding for preschool, evidence-based home visiting services, and center-based infant-toddler programs funded by the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services is pleased to welcome Geoffrey Martinez as its new store manager for the Nearly New Thrift Store. Located in Lincoln Park, the store has been in operation for over 60 years, offering stylish clothing and great deals for the local community. In this role, Geoffrey will continue building awareness of the thrift store and work to develop new ways to connect with the Lincoln Park Community.

Community Outreach Services at Marillac St. Vincent inspires and empowers adults, families, and seniors to work towards self-sufficiency and stability. Through individualized support, access to on-site resources, and strengthening community connections, adults and families receive tailored services to meet their specific needs. Take a look at the highlights from February 2022.

Make the most of the tax benefits when thinking of your philanthropic strategies with the following 3 Tax Tips.

Marillac St. Vincent’s Food Pantries have been instrumental to the local communities they serve, on the West Side in East Garfield Park and on the North Side in Lincoln Park. At Marillac St. Vincent we recognize the food insecurity that exists in the communities, and in response to this need, we offer a Client Choice food pantry at each location. The Client Choice model empowers adults and families to select the food that best meets their needs.

In recognition of Project Hope’s 40 years of service to the community and its outstanding outcomes for pregnant young women and their babies, Laronda Castine, Project Hope Manager, and Chief Operating Officer, Maureen Hallagan, spoke with a few local news groups to share the success over the years.

St. Vincent DePaul Center successfully completed the process to renew its accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC is the world's largest organization advocating for high-quality early childhood education. We congratulate everyone who was involved in the NAEYC reaccreditation process at St. Vincent DePaul Center.

DePaul University has been an instrumental partner to Marillac St. Vincent Family Services for many years. A recent partnership we are excited to highlight is DePaul’s Service Learning in the Arts Internship: Art 383. In this elective course for the Winter Quarter (Jan-Mar), Depaul Art Majors Meg Sampson and Haleigh Carr work with the school-aged children at the St. Vincent DePaul Center in Lincoln Park, sharing their knowledge and love of art.

Children at both Centers in the Early Childhood Program at MSV learned about many achievers and dreamers this Black History Month. Our teachers and staff led several fun projects and activities to make the connection between these amazing figures from history to their own lives and dreams. Take a look at some of the highlights!

We honor Michelle Howell, who recently retired from Marillac St. Vincent after nearly 40 years of service to the organization at the Marillac Social Center campus. She started her career as an assistant teacher for two-year-olds and concluded her time leading the same department as a Director and Program Manager of Early Childhood Development. She was and is an exemplary hard worker, team-player, peacemaker, strong listener, and advocate. Michelle’s leadership has paved the way for the next generation of early childhood teachers.

We honor Loretha Weisinger, who passed away this month after a courageous fight with cancer. Loretha worked as a Doula for Marillac St. Vincent Family Services for over 25 years before she retired several years ago. She was a pioneer in the Maternal Child Health Field and leaves a great legacy behind.

Community Outreach Services at Marillac St. Vincent inspires and empowers adults, families, and seniors to work towards self-sufficiency and stability. Through individualized support, access to on-site resources, and strengthening community connections, adults and families receive tailored services to meet their specific needs. Take a look at the highlights from December 2021.