St. Vincent de Paul helped nearly 5,000 people in need last year by providing free clothing, transportation, rent, and utility bill payments. It's that incredible, life changing service that caught the attention of a local restoration company who wanted to give back to those hard working volunteers.
A local dentist wrote a letter to Paul Davis to nominate the Neenah-Menasha St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop and donation center to receive free repair work. When Director Dan Johnson got the call from Paul Davis saying his organization won the contest, he couldn't believe his ears.
"We were very excited here. Very, very grateful," he explained.
To celebrate Paul Davis' 50 year anniversary, the restoration company chose St. Vincent de Paul to receive fifty hours of charitable work from their employees.
"It's a good fit for us serving a business that serves others, and the work that they needed fits right into what we do at Paul Davis," said Vice President of Operations, Tim Guilette. "We help people out with the fires and the floods in their times of need."
Mary Schliewe is one of the many Paul Davis volunteers who put a fresh coat of paint on the walls at the thrift store. "It's one of the most gratifying feelings when you can help somebody else out."
The team has the equipment, the store doesn't, to be able to clean the dust out of every nook and cranny. The volunteers also added electrical outlets and repaired windows and doors.
"It helps us in multiple ways. Number one, it makes a safer, cleaner environment for our volunteers, our staff, our customers, and it's going to save us money. It's something we don't have to do, which we can then turn around and put back into the local Neenah-Menasha area to help people," said Johnson.
Last year, the organization gave out $144,000 worth of aid to struggling families. Paul Davis is happy to reward them for their commitment to the community.
"Just stepping back and taking a look at what we've done for somebody else is going to be very rewarding and very exciting to see their faces light up," said Schliewe.
Guilette says it's a well deserved gift to a non-profit that gives so much to so many people who are living in poverty.
Paul Davis' charitable giving doesn't stop here. The restoration company also donates furniture and other items that their clients don't want anymore to St. Vincent de Paul and other organizations.
