In an Aug. 4 ceremony in Wall, Msgr. Edward J. Arnister, pastor of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, blessed two box trucks used by two separate St. Vincent de Paul entities: the Vincent’s Legacy Furniture Outreach Conference, Wall Township, and Selective Seconds, the furniture and home décor boutique run by the St. Rose conference in Belmar.
Vincent’s Legacy, created as a furniture outreach ministry of the St. Rose St. Vincent de Paul conference, has been supplying needy families in Monmouth and Ocean counties with gently used furniture since 2010. Volunteers with the program have assisted the needs of more than 1,000 people; its growth by 2016 led the Trenton SVdP council board to declare it an independent conference.
Selective Seconds, created in 2012, sells high-quality, new and gently used furniture and home décor accessories acquired through donations and from furniture vendors. The general public can purchase items for up to half-off regular price. When the organization decided it was time to buy a new box truck, they donated their former truck to Vincent’s Legacy, which subsists on donations, grants, warehouse sales and other fundraisers.
“The two charities work together in the donations they each receive with the ultimate goal of providing service to the poor through their related, yet separate, furniture ministries,” explained Margaret More, who created Vincent’s Legacy out of the St. Rose Parish SVdP conference. “This has been an ongoing, tremendous partnership whose combined mission has served the needs of countless residents of Monmouth County and beyond.”
The box truck blessing ceremony took place at the InfoAge/Camp Evans historic district, which is home to the warehouses for both of these charities. Vincent’s Legacy was awarded a 2017 recipient of the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Award for Public Service.