Alex Moynihan is a 17-year-old Vincentian from Redmond, Washington. She is the founder of the beginnings of a Youth Conference at St. Jude’s in Washington. With her father being a Vincentian, Alex was invited by her father to a training for St. Vincent de Paul and was inspired to begin making her own impact. The spirituality of the personal encounter captivated Alex and was one of the many reasons she wanted to become a Vincentian. However, she noticed one thing about her Conference life–there were no other youth or young adults at the table. This observation led her to recruit and reach out to many of her peers, inviting them to join the mission of St. Vincent de Paul. She explained, “I love getting my friends involved whether they are from my church or not. I think it’s a great opportunity for them to really make meaningful change.”
Alex’s desire to bring in other young people is inspiring. She currently acts as the liaison or a bridge of sorts between youth and young adults and the adult conference at the Parish of St. Jude. Just recently, she led a group of young people in organizing and cleaning the storage room where all of the donations and materials for the SVdP conference are stored. She shared that it had not been cleaned in over 25 years, so it needed new organization and clean-up. This effort not only made the space safer and more efficient for all volunteers, but also allowed the conference to better serve families seeking support, making it easier to distribute items quickly and with dignity. She also collected children’s clothing and household items for neighbors in need. Alex explained, “I created a little area for teens’ clothes, kids’ clothes, toys, shoes, whatever kids want.” She recognized a need for kids’ and teens’ clothes and wanted to make an impact. As a result, more families were able to find the items they needed, and the community experienced a greater sense of care and connection through these organized efforts.
Along with these service projects, she and the other youth work behind the scenes, creating and providing thank-yous for donors. She and a few other youth wrote over ninety cards, which helped the adult conference reach all the donors promptly. She also expressed that she sees the need for human connection. While the financial help is needed, the connection and relationship with our neighbors is essential.
Alex’s devotion to making a change in her community is evident. Not only is she a Vincentian, but she also helps as a teacher for her church’s Vacation Bible School, helps with parish-wide food drives, and serves as an usher at Mass. She understands the importance of leading with love and sharing her faith with others. She explained, “I know this is what we are called to do, and it is a fundamental obligation to help those in need. I mean it is just following in Jesus’s footsteps, and you’re helping people the way Jesus would.”
Alex’s commitment to serving others is truly commendable. Her selfless actions and dedication set a powerful example for her peers and demonstrate the profound impact one person can have on a community.
Brian is a soon-to-be junior from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He has played a role in the Society since 2022. He was the Vice President in 2022 and is now President of the Youth Conference. He has organized and led a Children’s Coat Drive that brought in nearly 200 coats and has organized multiple drives for school-related needs. If it is not SVdP-related, Brian also works to assist in various other projects and events for his church and community. He is a voice for the voiceless; when he sees a problem, he wants to do his best to fix it. For him, “It is truly putting faith into action. We’re called to help the poor and so this is a great way to do it.”
To help coordinate and plan these drives and events, he meets with Adult and Young Vincentians alike to discuss details and develop well-rounded plans to best serve our Friends in Need and determine the actual needs in his community. He mentioned, “There are a lot of people that need food, clothing, and rent, and our immediate community is definitely in need.” Because of this, Brian works diligently with his fellow Young Vincentians at his Youth Conference to host drives and events to support the community. With each initiative he leads, he is not just creating change but building community and fostering hope.
He also finds it invaluable to continually grow in his faith life and help others grow theirs. As Vincentians, we are called to journey together towards holiness, and Brian does just that: “A huge part of [SVdP] is that it incorporates the Catholic faith, too, and that is probably the biggest part for me.” His desire to encourage those around him to grow in their prayer life is powerful.
He is an outstanding leader with many skills to coordinate and balance the timing of life events, but still impact those around him in a friendly and respectful way. He enjoys interacting with our Friends in Need. He explained, “It’s given me a lot of perspective on the struggles that people have and a greater appreciation for what other people have to go through, especially like some of the parents that are struggling to make ends meet, for, like their children, and just to see like how hard it is for them and how emotional some of these people get. I mean, it’s truly moving.” For him, it is not only faith in action, but also witnessing those he serves faces’ light up with joy that inspires him to continue serving.
When faith meets compassion, lives are transformed. Brian has faithfully served others, not for recognition, but out of deep love for Christ and His people. It is clear that Brian has a bright future ahead, and it will be amazing to see all the lives he will continue to impact along the way.
Ruth Garcia is a Young Adult from North Aurora, Illinois, and has been a Vincentian for over a year. She joined the Society through a family friend’s invitation and has not looked back. She is currently a member of an Adult Conference and partakes in personal encounters. She is fluent in Spanish and can connect with the Spanish-speaking community. Ruth’s zeal is not just evident; it’s contagious; she fully understands the importance of being the hands and feet of Christ, ensuring that our Friends in Need feel seen and loved. Her sincerity is evident when she says, “Let me go where I am needed and make an impact in my community.”
Her gift of chatting has propelled her into many great opportunities and observations on how to better serve those in her community. Her desire for serving others in her parish, especially connecting the elderly and youth is notable. She has several ideas of how to intertwine and connect both age groups with simple yet effective methods. She sees that many young people feel isolated, especially after high school, so when they are young adults, it is difficult for many to feel like there is a community supporting them. With that in mind, she also sees there are elderly who are also feeling isolated and lonely, so Ruth thought of a possible solution: her church could potentially start a group that allows for a time once a month where younger people have the opportunity to interact and socialize with the elderly and let each other know that “they are not alone.”
Furthermore, she wants to start a single-mother’s support group within her Adult Conference so that there can be a community of people, of friends, who are there to encourage and uplift one another in their journeys. Her care for others is evident, and her continual desire to spread joy and work through barriers are exceptional qualities that will carry her far in her Vincentian vocation.
Ruth also has a few ideas related to media content, like spotlight podcasts on various Vincentians or special works in her area and podcasts that promote the wonderful works of the Society. Ruth’s creativity and resourcefulness were evident when discussing her various goals and thoughts on how she can better serve, not only our Friends in Need, but her fellow Vincentians and parishioners.
Although she’s only been a Vincentian for a little over a year, Ruth says this about her fellow Vincentians, “They are so welcoming, so kind, and they are teaching me a lot spiritually, teaching me how to show kindness with actions and deepen my faith. They taught me to be led by the Spirit and have faith.”
Guided by a heart for service and a calling to make a difference, Ruth has dedicated her time, talent, and prayers to bettering her service to those in need and ultimately, the Kingdom of God. Her unwavering dedication is truly inspiring, and her commitment to growing in holiness and service is a shining example for all of us.
Andre Navarro is from San Ramon, California and is currently one of two Spiritual Advisors at Vincentians of the Arc Youth Conference. He was one of three founding members in 2024 for the Youth Conference and was the first Vice President. An active member of the Emerging Leaders Team, Andre’s dedication to the Society is commendable. Andre understands the significance of SVdP and expressed this, “St. Vincent de Paul is special in its own way, with SVdP I feel as though I can connect with the Neighbors I help out and the people I am serving alongside on a deeper relation because spirituality, friendship, and service are intertwined every time I serve.”
At his Youth Conference, Andre has been involved in a few service projects and expressed his appreciation for one service project in particular, making prayer shawls for Friends in Need. The prayer shawls are a nice way to remind people that they matter and that someone is thinking and praying for them. He believes it is vital to always serve with kindness and especially with love. He explained further about this wonderful service project, “You could just give it to them so that they know they are being prayed for and so that they can feel God’s warmth whenever they wear it.”
Andre has also started attending Adult Conference meetings to continue growing his Vincentian vocation and to continue nurturing the seed of being a lifelong Vincentian. He intends to start a University Conference at his college and has already made connections with adult Vincentians in his University’s county to ensure the success of this goal. He plans to document his progress and ways he is staying connected to the Society even as he takes this next step in life so that it can help others who are also trying to stay connected to St. Vincent de Paul all throughout their lives.
He also understands the importance of spiritual growth and the daily journey towards holiness, which is central to our Vincentian vocation. He wants to make sure he incorporates more emphasis on spirituality in his Youth Conference meetings and already has a plan to do so. With this in mind, his goal is to have each meeting integrate at least forty-five minutes of spirituality and then of course, leaving time for friendship and service.
Writing prayers for the Emerging Leaders Team, his dedication to growing his spiritual life is notable. He commented further on the significance of being a Spiritual Advisor, “As a Spiritual Advisor, I feel like it’s definitely pushed me a lot more to be all those virtues, especially because you know you are the Spiritual Advisor of the group and people look to you for spiritual advice and to be that strong pillar of spirituality within the Conference, so that has definitely pushed me to not only pray more, but ask myself, what would Jesus do?”
Andre has already done wonderful work for the Society and our Neighbors in Need. He has a bright future ahead within this network of friends inspired by Gospel values.
Trent Hammer, a university student from Scottsdale, Arizona, is deeply committed to the Vincentian family. His journey began at a middle-school-aged conference when he was ten years old, and he is now a part of an Adult Conference. Despite his shyness, Trent’s kind-hearted personality shines through. He often goes on personal encounters, and whenever he sees a Friend in Need along the streets, he stops and gives them a bag with sunscreen, socks, and other essentials for the heat. If he does not have one on him, he will journey to the local St. Vincent de Paul, pick one up, and ensure the Friend in Need gets one. For Trent, “It’s becoming better versions of ourselves and ultimately seeing the Face of Christ in everyone.”
Along with acts of kindness to our Friends in Need, for several years, Trent often volunteers his time by sorting and shelving books at the SVdP thrift store in Phoenix.
Additionally, with the vision to be a lifelong Vincentian, he also has a goal to be a Conference president one day, possibly at the Adult Conference he is active in, St. Bernadette, or starting his own Conference, if needed. He also wants to grow in his courage to speak up in larger groups and be a more confident servant leader.
According to Trent, being a part of the Vincentian family is impactful, “Initially, I did not realize the importance of it but then it grew on me, and I realized that I liked the Society and it is important.” Now, he tries to fully embrace the significance of being humble, volunteering with an open heart, and channeling God’s love to every person he encounters.
Some people preach with words; others preach with their lives. Trent is one of those individuals whose actions consistently reflect Christ’s love, selflessness, and humility.
