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Meet Jackie Cavanaugh

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

  Dear fellow volunteers and supporters of St. Vincent’s, As I write this, we are deep into the winter months and that means there are a lot of living challenges present in our Valley for needy families and individuals. During 2009, we provided a level of services that were generally larger in scope than in previous years and given to people that, in many cases, were newly impacted by our soft economy. I, like you, hope and pray, that our economy will see some recovery during 2010, but suspect that whatever recovery comes our way it will be slow at best. During 2009, our Volunteers donated over 85,000 hours throughout our nine serving Conferences and we continued to serve with all volunteers of about 230. We helped over 18,000 families and individuals with rent. utility and prescription cost relief in our Social Services and Home Visit Conferences. We consumed about $450,000 in providing those social services, a figure that is almost twice the level for the same type of services during 2008. In addition, we provided; 2,800 sets of school supplies to needy children; free clothing and household items to over 7,900 people; 52,000 hot meals to men, women and children; 12,000 sacks of groceries (including fresh fruit), 3,400 bed nights to people without shelter; free Dental help to almost 200 individuals, and gave free showers and laundry facilities to about 200 individuals. We could not have served at those levels without the continuing support from Church Parishioners, Charitable Foundations, Naumes Inc., Greater Medford Rotary, and donations in kind from such sources as the Rogue Valley Manor, Red Lobster, Pizza Hut, Ray’s Markets, Costco, Hubbards Hardware, Medford Fabrication, Curtis-Huntley Plumbing, Mr. Rooter and Bi-Mart, to name a few. In addition, there are many families and individuals that provide very generous support on a regular basis. Thank you very much to all of you and God Bless you.

Len Hebert

In 1998, Jackie Cavanaugh was considering what to do for Lent and, as she says, “I thought to myself, why give something up again this year? Why not instead give time for something special.” So she decided to volunteer during Lent at Saint Vincent de Paul. Well, she got so involved in the experience that she never left. “I’ve stayed through thick and thin, mostly because Karen McNeilly (now Store Manager) so inspired me. I watched her deal with so many different things and not become discouraged. She would remind me to just keep my eye on the ball… helping the poor… and just keep moving forward.” Jackie worked in all areas of the Store and often just came in and asked where she was most needed. “I did flowers for awhile, holiday donations and jewelry. On Saturdays I would do whatever I had to do... sort of a Jack of all Trades. The tasks are never ending.” Today, Jackie is the Day Manager on Monday, Does jewelry for the Collectibles Sale with the help of Julie Wiley, and on Saturdays still comes in and freelances, as she calls it. She says, “I’m amazed at the great things people donate and at our dedicated shoppers who keep coming back year-after-year.” She likes knowing how much Saint Vincent de Paul does to help meet the needs of the people in this valley, particularly those who are struggling. And she is proud of how so many volunteers are

 dedicated to making all this happen. Jackie says, “Working at St Vincent is my way of making a direct response to the Lord’s request to reach out to our fellow human beings.” When I ask Jackie about her hobbies, she said, “My family is my hobby, I guess. I have four children and ten grandchildren. Three of our children and their families live right here in Medford so I spend lots of time with them.” Jackie grew up in Southern California, went to a Catholic girl’s high school, attended college for a time in the Midwest and then worked for the airlines. “I loved traveling, particularly all over Europe, and pursued my interest in art for a time.” She met her husband, Ralph, briefly when she was going to high school with his sister and didn’t meet him again for ten years. “At that next meeting all the bells and whistles went off and we’ve been married for 42 years.” Jackie continues to love working at SVDP. She likes collecting antique dishes and never fails to find lots of lovely things in the Store, particularly at the yearly Collectible Sale. “This is the greatest guilt free shopping there is, every penny helps someone somewhere.” •