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November 15, 2018
Tom Burke
The St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County is running up to the holidays much with the help of volunteer Peggy Cooney.
“Peggy is a huge asset to the society’s Development Department,” said marketing and communications director Krissy Lagomarsino. Peggy has been SVdP’s Database Volunteer for seven years. “She has worked diligently to ensure our supporter records remain up to date and accurate,” Krissy said. In addition she helps organize the group’s large bulk mailings and fundraising events. “We’re very lucky to have her on our team!” Krissy said. “Peggy is a wonderful woman who continuously gives her time and energy to help SVdP thrive.”
“I am a San Francisco native, raised in St. Cecilia Parish, and graduated from Mercy High School, San Francisco,” Peggy said. She was an active parishioner at Daly City’s Our Lady of Mercy Parish for more than 40 years, and is a parishioner today at St. Veronica’s in South San Francisco.
Peggy found her way to SVdP through meeting now retired executive director Lorraine Moriarty. “I met the staff and found out I was familiar with their computer program. I then decided I would volunteer once a week to help out in the office.”
Peggy likes “giving back and helping those less fortunate and in need. I truly believe in all the good work of SVdP and their tireless staff.”
From its B Street headquarters and conferences throughout San Mateo County, SVdP works to ensure the forgotten, suffering or deprived get the help they need every day, Krissy said, but the holidays bring on increased needs.
Krissy summed up the holiday plan: “Every year, our conferences make special Thanksgiving home visits to provide food and gift cards to families who cannot afford a Thanksgiving dinner. Our Homeless Help Centers serve a turkey feast to our homeless guests. Our Restorative Justice Jail Chaplain visits the incarcerated and accompanies the recently released through the holidays. SVdP’s Catherine Center hosts dinner for its women and supports them as they repair relationships and reunite with their friends and families and reclaim life after incarceration.”
SVdP’s Stay Warm campaign for the homeless is now in progress. Donations benefit SVdP’s three Homeless Help Centers and provide funds to purchase sleeping bags, coats, blankets, hats, scarves and other cold weather gear for the homeless, often sleeping on the streets or in their cars. “Thank you for helping us keep our homeless brothers and sisters warm during the cold season,” Krissy said.
If you would like to donate to SVdP’s Stay Warm appeal, visit www.svdpsm.org and click the link. Checks can be sent to SVdP, 50 North B St., San Mateo 94401. Please note “Stay Warm” on your check.
THOUGHTFUL: Students at Mercy High School, Burlingame joined together Oct. 26 for a Breast Cancer Awareness Rally capping the school’s annual Pink Week. Among the events is students cutting and donating their hair to Locks of Love where the donated hair is used for real-hair wigs for those with cancer. “This is a cause very close to our community, and we celebrate the support and participation in these activities,” the school said.
A TIME TO REMEMBER: Msgr. John Talesfore, pastor, St. Matthew Parish, San Mateo, presides, as he has since the rite’s founding, at the Christmas Remembrance Service, Dec. 8, 11 a.m., All Saints Chapel, Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. (650) 756-2020; www.holycrosscemeteries.com.
MASS AND BREAKFAST: Marin Catholic Breakfast Club welcomes Bishop Robert F. Christian, Dec. 7, St. Sebastian Church, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Bon Air Road, Greenbrae. Mass is at 7 a.m. with breakfast and a talk by Bishop Christian following. Members breakfast $10, non-members $15. Reserve at Sugaremy@aol.com.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Al Oneto joined the centenarians club Sept. 23 with a special Mass at Corpus Christi Church, San Francisco. Al, now 100, and his wife, Louise, 93, will be married 71 years Nov. 23. They married at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach later moving to the home bought by Louise’s parents in 1935. They are a happy twosome, Louise told me. “It’s good to have somebody to fight with,” she said with a laugh. “It keeps the blood flowing.” Al is a retired partner of Royal Baking Company and “has always loved cars,” Louise said. A favorite of his was his 1931 Auburn. “Having survived the Great Depression and the horrors of World War II, Al takes nothing for granted,” Louise said. “He is indeed a worthy member of the Great Generation.”
Email items and electronic pictures – hi-res jpegs - to burket@sfarch.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. Reach me at (415) 614-5634; email burket@sfarch.org.